Apple eyeing billion-dollar acquisitions, push into TV market - rumor

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
New rumors suggest that Apple plans to make more acquisitions -- potentially spending as much as $1 billion -- and will make a "big move" in the living room with a new TV-centric push.



Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider on Monday night moderated an event with a number of chief executives in Manhattan. Out of that discussion came a number of rumors about Apple.



"Apple's shopping spree isn't over, and the company is looking at all kinds of deals, even up to $1 billion," Frommer wrote. "This is being led by Apple's newish deals guy, former Goldman banker Adrian Perica."



Apple has more than $40 billion in cash, money that Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in February that Apple must "think big" with. He said his company would take "big, bold" risks with its massive war chest.



The last year has been busy for Apple in terms of acquisitions. In January it was revealed that Apple bought Quattro Wireless, which laid the groundwork for Apple's forthcoming iAd mobile advertising platform, set to launch July 1. And late last year, Apple acquired streaming music service Lala for $85 million, an acquisition that is believed to pave the way for a cloud-based iTunes.



Most recently, in April, it was revealed that Apple had acquired Siri, which developed a personal assistant application for the iPhone. The software allows users to find local businesses and complete activities like make a dinner reservation or purchase movie tickets, all through voice commands.



Frommer also revealed that Apple's "next big move" will be in TV. The report did not say whether that means the company is planning an actual television set -- which has been which rumored for some time -- or or a redesign of the already established Apple TV set top box. In May, one rumor suggested that a cloud-centric Apple TV would be based on iOS 4, offer 1080P streaming video, run Apple's custom A4 processor, and cost just $99.



"Apple's next big move is going to be TV," Frommer wrote. "Besides the leaks of a supposed new Apple TV device, the company also renamed its iPhone OS 'iOS,' foreshadowing a future beyond mobile devices. The company's move into advertising -- mobile, so far, but no reason it can't extend into TV somehow -- is another hint."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 116
    s4mb4s4mb4 Posts: 267member
    meh, I'll keep my WD TV Live.
  • Reply 2 of 116
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Apple will have to come up with something cool to justify their margins. but i can see some people paying twice the price as a regular TV just because it was made by Apple
  • Reply 3 of 116
    The move to TV and the living room seems like the logical next step for Apple. $1B will barely register a negative market reaction, given the size of its cash pile and its market cap.



    But what/who in this space could be potentially interesting targets out there?
  • Reply 4 of 116
    msanttimsantti Posts: 1,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    Apple will have to come up with something cool to justify their margins. but i can see some people paying twice the price as a regular TV just because it was made by Apple



    I do not see Apple coming out with a TV. Nothing good can come from that.



    Apple needs to deal with a low margin on a box if they intend on being serious with this space.



    I sold my Apple TV with hopes that Apple comes out with a new device this fall.



    If they do, the value of the original Apple TV will go in the tank.
  • Reply 5 of 116
    I hope Apple buys a Sat TV company which would solve Jobs' "Go to Market" problem.



    Apple could circumvent all the stupid regional cable companies.



    Imagine an Apple flat screen with Apple software inside!



    Best
  • Reply 6 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by msantti View Post


    I sold my Apple TV with hopes that Apple comes out with a new device this fall.



    If they do, the value of the original Apple TV will go in the tank.



    How do you know that the old Apple TV boxes won't be able to run the new ATV OS? It's very possible this will be likely. And it would be in Apple's interest to get all those ATV boxes, old and new, running the same OS and being able to access the same content.
  • Reply 7 of 116
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by msantti View Post


    I do not see Apple coming out with a TV. Nothing good can come from that.



    Apple needs to deal with a low margin on a box if they intend on being serious with this space.



    I sold my Apple TV with hopes that Apple comes out with a new device this fall.



    If they do, the value of the original Apple TV will go in the tank.





    some family just bought a new $1300 LED LCD TV. it has netflix, vudu, yahoo and google built in. i even uploaded some photos to their picasa this morning and a video to youtube so they can watch it tonight. next year this TV will be under $1000.



    there is no computer required, no itunes needed, my inlaws can watch a lot of movies over netflix and rent movies from vudu. other TV's and blu ray players are even including pandora. if apple doesn't do something then iTunes is going the way of the dodo.



    apple TV is overpriced and under featured when you compare it to game consoles and internet enabled TV's and blu ray players
  • Reply 8 of 116
    Ideally Apple would take over a cable or satellite company just so I wouldn't have to deal with Comcast anymore. Seriously 15 minutes for their boxes to reboot and become usable after a lost of power for a second because it has to redownload the entire guide and all settings first. There's got to be a better way than that
  • Reply 9 of 116
    It wont be an Apple Television, just a new Apple TV device/OS and service. One that will also enable you to record TV shows from a cable connection in addition to buying content from iTunes and surfing the Internet from your E-Z Boy recliner.



    As cable companies control the pipe that many people get their Internet service through, it would be hard for Apple to attempt to compete directly with cable companies in supplying content if they weren't somehow part of the whole deal, like AT&T and the iPhone. Unless Apple is planning to buy an entire TV Network and cable company, which it easily could with that much spare cash laying around,
  • Reply 10 of 116
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    $1 billion? A short pile of chips in today's marketplace. Apple can afford to bet a lot more if they indeed have another game-changer up their sleeve.
  • Reply 11 of 116
    s4mb4s4mb4 Posts: 267member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnnyb0731 View Post


    Ideally Apple would take over a cable or satellite company just so I wouldn't have to deal with Comcast anymore. Seriously 15 minutes for their boxes to reboot and become usable after a lost of power for a second because it has to redownload the entire guide and all settings first. There's got to be a better way than that



    connect it to a UPS. that is what i do.....
  • Reply 12 of 116
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    I think many Americans spend as much time in their car as in front of their televisions. I would love it if Apple could replace my car's touchscreen radio/phone connectivity with iOS. I'm sure there are parents who say the same thing about the backseat entertainment system. Sure, you could buy everyone iPads, but it takes forever to load them up with video... why not stream the video from the car's server? Which syncs to the house when within range?



    Televisions have been done to death.
  • Reply 13 of 116
    ...the reason the Boxee Box has been delayed into Q4 is because they're in talks with Apple? Obviously Apple doesn't want Boxee itself, but there's got to be some talent and code there that's worthwhile. Just a little conspiracy theory for your afternoon pleasure.
  • Reply 14 of 116
    cvaldes1831cvaldes1831 Posts: 1,832member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Trajectory View Post


    How do you know that the old Apple TV boxes won't be able to run the new ATV OS? It's very possible this will be likely. And it would be in Apple's interest to get all those ATV boxes, old and new, running the same OS and being able to access the same content.



    The older Apple TV boxes are Intel-based. I doubt if Apple would bother building all the libraries, etc. for an essentially dead x86 Apple TV platform. They would simply move on.
  • Reply 15 of 116
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    I hope Apple buys a Sat TV company which would solve Jobs' "Go to Market" problem.



    Those companies really have a bad deal though from a content acquisition perspective. Dish is worth $8.3B as well, making it a pretty tough pill to swallow.



    A successful strategy in the living room would almost do better with a pure content play such as NBC Universal, but at $30B+, it doesn't really seem like it would do much for ROI. All of these companies are pretty low multiplier; they would have to change how people use content to "unlock value" in the businesses.
  • Reply 16 of 116
    notscottnotscott Posts: 247member
    An Apple TV or iOS-enabled set is an interesting thought, though... Making every device in your entertainment ecosystem a multifunction device:



    Great picture on your iPhone? Throw it up onto your TV screen. Great show on? Swipe it to your iPhone. Hey, guys, listen to this! Song plays through TV/receiver. Let me show you the map/directions...



    Why not?
  • Reply 17 of 116
    kwatsonkwatson Posts: 95member
    ...and they still can't come out with a new Mac Pro.
  • Reply 18 of 116
    carniphagecarniphage Posts: 1,984member
    People don't want to pay for yet another set top box.

    If Apple does create a new AppleTV box - the price to consumers will be $0.00 - They'll pay for the hardware through service subscriptions.



    If the box is iPhone small, with an A4 and some flash memory - a better direction for Apple is encourage TV makers to create TVs with the hardware built-in. Or perhaps with a slot to accommodate the device. No additional remotes. No wires.



    The AppleTV would just be another channel on the TV with downloadable content. apps (like AirVideo), YouTube.



    C.
  • Reply 19 of 116
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    apple could buy 49% of bing

    apple could buy or mimic hulu/netflix

    << yet why should they since they get both for free right now>>



    apple could buy 49% of xbox or 100% of xbox content



    apple could buy EA



    APPLE could hire 2000 american college grads and add to its SW dept to update all its ignored cores biz's



    apple could buy EA

    or buy nothing but

    fire steve jobs and split the company into 5 divisions

    1 mac // ipad div



    2 ipod / touch/ phone div



    3 SW including filemaker pro and all macOSx updates// filemaker pro SW div



    4 cloud services including itunes /app stores / server farms /including retail locations / online store



    5 pacific region //educational and business sales div



    6 new business / RD proto type ,Micro div to be run by steve jobs and to be run as an additional floating div moving in and out of all 5 and whatever other area's 'they need to be including other firms at will .



    rant s over

    i am home for the next month recovering from surgery

    lucky you guys have my inane wisdom 24/7
  • Reply 20 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kwatson View Post


    ...and they still can't come out with a new Mac Pro.



    Of cause they will... in due time. Apple has said again and again that they are still a computer company, and Steve Jobs has said it in several e-mails already!
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