For me, I watch very few shows and cable is expensive here. I could probably get by on 8 dollars or 12 dollars a month and nothing in the summer - which would be WAY cheaper than $40 for cable with 100 channels I have never once watched.
Right on dude. Whatever I can't find on BOXee HULU or Netflix I could rent from . Honesly I can't wait untill TV is a la carte and I don't have to pay for channels I never watch.
Oh and PS I doubt studios will go along with this nicely. There would have to be a lot of arm twisting for $.99 shows, cause that would give even more power to iTunes studios love to hate.
How will this fly when there are plenty of free sources (Hulu, etc.) for streaming current shows, cheap sources for streaming older shows (Netflix and Hulu+, etc.) ? not to mention brain-dead simple tools for torrents ? for those who don't want cable, and it's no cheaper than paying for service and a DVR box from your cable company for the same convenience?
MDN is right; if this is correct, Apple got screwed.
Well I'm not going to gripe about what a show might cost, as it seems that everyone these days wants everything for free...(or as cheap as humanly possible) I will just be happy to see the finished product if and when it comes out...as of now I have one apple tv and I like it alot with Atv Flash installed :?)...I also use a new mac mini server which I really like and use as my main media hub... Thanks apple as I know that no matter what they do, everyone will not be pleased
Where do you get your cable service from... seriously, around here 24.99 is the cheapest promotion (12 months) for the most basic package. After the promotional period it's 39.99.
Agreed. The dollar amount of per-episode purchasing is not what's holding Apple TV back from wider adoption. Until Apple can come to agreement with the networks on a subscription package to compete with cable and satellite, Apple's TV market will be pretty limited.
My Comcast bill is roughly $90 for cable/DVR and $50 for broadband. I would take a serious look at dropping my cable if Apple had a subscription package for $75 to $100 that included all or nearly all of the shows I watch now, live news, and live sports.
That would be great, but I can't for the life of me figure out how Apple could swing this sort of deal considering the vast differences involved.
For starters, you used a price lower and only slightly higher than your cable TV bill for a solution that, by design, allows for having a local copy that can be moved between devices. Are you suggesting that Apple make it a realtime streaming service like your cable is, sans the on demand content that is ordained by networks to increase viewership and in turn ad revenue?
On top of that, your cable company is your Internet provider and I assume you have no contract. If people start dropping cable TV service, they don't really lower coats in supporting that service or what they pay these networks. The result would likely be a hike in Internet prices.
Then there are the local channels (which people can get OTA anyway, but typically don't bother with) which need local and national ads to support themselves. Is Apple going to offer these stations? If so, do they verify your location via IP address or GPS to keep te parent companies happy?
Finally, do we really this the negotiations are simply on some pricepoint or some fear Apple will end up controlling them? I don't. I think the issue lies in how this will affect the rest of their business and they are wise to want to make any deal with Apple increase their profits, not destroy it.
As cool it would be to have all these idealistic optiona for watching television I have yet to hear an idea that seemed feasible for all parties involved.
What you failed to realize is that this is perfect for those that already have cable and miss a show every once in a while. I'll gladly pay 99cents to watch a show I missed. It's worth it to not have to find someone who recorded it or even wait and find it on a torrent..
who in the time of DVR's "misses" a show anymore? program the shows you like and record only new episodes. done. i get to watch it when i want and keep it for however long i want - and the 30-second skip button pretty much turns commercial breaks into 4 seconds if i want.
i've read the "you have 200 mind numbing channels that you never watch" arguments, but what likelihood is there that iTV will have the major networks PLUS FX [always sunny, rescue me], Comedy Central [TDS/colbert], AMC [breaking bad]... how much will the Planet Earth or Ancient Aliens on disco or history cost if i can't get it though iTV.
if you want a cheaper alternative for getting ABC, NBC, and CBS, get an ANTENNA and a $29 DVD-R set top box.
I'm from Canada, from the Toronto area to be more precise, and a huge NHL fan. My team, i.e. the Leafs, show some of their games exclusively on the team's own channel which is not available over the air.
i get your leafs games via NHL center ice [and a grey-market CBC/RDS] here in Connecticut... in addition to games from good teams. GO HABS GO!
Wow. Where are you? My cable bill is upwards of $60. Fairly, I have HD service and lots of channels I don't watch, but the two I do are in the package that is insanely expensive. No premiums (HBO etc.) Sounds like you've got a deal.
Central Florida. I get basic cable. No premium channels. But HD programming is included. I'll get about 130+ TV channels (and still nothing to watch). I do pay an additional $19 per month for broadband. So my total TV + Internet is $38.
If hulu and netflix can negociate package deals why cant Apple do it?
Btw i pay only 16$ per month for cable bevauce I am a big client for them has i have my high speed internet and phone with them too. I wanted to drop the cable since i install an hd ota antenna but they transferted me to a manager and he told me he can arrange anything i want. So i got a few channels i cant get with my antenna for only 16 per month.
Well, if studios wont allow Apple to sell the content Apple can go the route of iTunes Original Programming to augment current content. Like HBO original programming.
It's a shame that Discovery is a $10B company as it has unique and IMHO enjoyable content.
Another alternative is to start offering contests for aspiring talent. Top 10 winners for best iTunes shorts get a low-budget movie or mini-series funded. Terminator was low-budget movie at $6.4M in 1984. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was $5M in 2002.
A Firefly type show is around $5M per episode, The Wire around $1.5M, $5M for Deadwood. For $0.99/ep and iAd revenue it could be economically viable.
If hulu and netflix can negociate package deals why cant Apple do it?
If we're only talking streaming from a website then I think Apple could ink a deal with ease, but I have to assume Apple's requires that any deal include te ability to move the content between devices and store locally. I don't think Hulu has anything like this and NetFlix has this with their optical media, but I wouldn't call ripping for personal use convenient or legal.
Even light TV viewers would need to spend a lot of money to make it through a month at 99 cents/episode.
Not really. People spend $130/month on cable. That is enough to buy more than 4 TV shows every day, with no waste like cable has.
And think of how convenient it will be to have subscriptions. It will be just like a DVR, but a LOT better.
I think that even if it costs a few bucks a month, that it is so much better than cable it is ridiculous. The final price is nowhere near as important as the final User Experience. Happy Apple customers don't care about spending more money in order to get their User Experience from Apple, because it is so worth it.
Just let me know when Apple sends the same QUALITY that my cable provider offers...
How do you define quality? You can?t just go by bit rate if they are using different codecs. Aren?t most cable companies transmitting in MPEG2? Is there an equivalency formula for MPEG2 and H.264?
Comments
The difference being you would OWN the box set.
For me, I watch very few shows and cable is expensive here. I could probably get by on 8 dollars or 12 dollars a month and nothing in the summer - which would be WAY cheaper than $40 for cable with 100 channels I have never once watched.
Right on dude. Whatever I can't find on BOXee HULU or Netflix I could rent from . Honesly I can't wait untill TV is a la carte and I don't have to pay for channels I never watch.
Oh and PS I doubt studios will go along with this nicely. There would have to be a lot of arm twisting for $.99 shows, cause that would give even more power to iTunes studios love to hate.
MDN is right; if this is correct, Apple got screwed.
Just cancel, you'd not be missing much if you're a Leafs fan.........
Apologies, cheap shot, but couldn't resist.
Ron Wilson left the Sharks in good shape when he left and I hope he makes a difference to you guys too.
Not yet but we're hoping.
I pay $19 a month for cable.
Where do you get your cable service from... seriously, around here 24.99 is the cheapest promotion (12 months) for the most basic package. After the promotional period it's 39.99.
Agreed. The dollar amount of per-episode purchasing is not what's holding Apple TV back from wider adoption. Until Apple can come to agreement with the networks on a subscription package to compete with cable and satellite, Apple's TV market will be pretty limited.
My Comcast bill is roughly $90 for cable/DVR and $50 for broadband. I would take a serious look at dropping my cable if Apple had a subscription package for $75 to $100 that included all or nearly all of the shows I watch now, live news, and live sports.
That would be great, but I can't for the life of me figure out how Apple could swing this sort of deal considering the vast differences involved.
For starters, you used a price lower and only slightly higher than your cable TV bill for a solution that, by design, allows for having a local copy that can be moved between devices. Are you suggesting that Apple make it a realtime streaming service like your cable is, sans the on demand content that is ordained by networks to increase viewership and in turn ad revenue?
On top of that, your cable company is your Internet provider and I assume you have no contract. If people start dropping cable TV service, they don't really lower coats in supporting that service or what they pay these networks. The result would likely be a hike in Internet prices.
Then there are the local channels (which people can get OTA anyway, but typically don't bother with) which need local and national ads to support themselves. Is Apple going to offer these stations? If so, do they verify your location via IP address or GPS to keep te parent companies happy?
Finally, do we really this the negotiations are simply on some pricepoint or some fear Apple will end up controlling them? I don't. I think the issue lies in how this will affect the rest of their business and they are wise to want to make any deal with Apple increase their profits, not destroy it.
As cool it would be to have all these idealistic optiona for watching television I have yet to hear an idea that seemed feasible for all parties involved.
What you failed to realize is that this is perfect for those that already have cable and miss a show every once in a while. I'll gladly pay 99cents to watch a show I missed. It's worth it to not have to find someone who recorded it or even wait and find it on a torrent..
who in the time of DVR's "misses" a show anymore? program the shows you like and record only new episodes. done. i get to watch it when i want and keep it for however long i want - and the 30-second skip button pretty much turns commercial breaks into 4 seconds if i want.
i've read the "you have 200 mind numbing channels that you never watch" arguments, but what likelihood is there that iTV will have the major networks PLUS FX [always sunny, rescue me], Comedy Central [TDS/colbert], AMC [breaking bad]... how much will the Planet Earth or Ancient Aliens on disco or history cost if i can't get it though iTV.
if you want a cheaper alternative for getting ABC, NBC, and CBS, get an ANTENNA and a $29 DVD-R set top box.
I'm from Canada, from the Toronto area to be more precise, and a huge NHL fan. My team, i.e. the Leafs, show some of their games exclusively on the team's own channel which is not available over the air.
i get your leafs games via NHL center ice [and a grey-market CBC/RDS] here in Connecticut... in addition to games from good teams. GO HABS GO!
It's an ice breaker which will lead to other deals
Wow. Where are you? My cable bill is upwards of $60. Fairly, I have HD service and lots of channels I don't watch, but the two I do are in the package that is insanely expensive. No premiums (HBO etc.) Sounds like you've got a deal.
Central Florida. I get basic cable. No premium channels. But HD programming is included. I'll get about 130+ TV channels (and still nothing to watch). I do pay an additional $19 per month for broadband. So my total TV + Internet is $38.
who in the time of DVR's "misses" a show anymore?
Off the top of my head:
Btw i pay only 16$ per month for cable bevauce I am a big client for them has i have my high speed internet and phone with them too. I wanted to drop the cable since i install an hd ota antenna but they transferted me to a manager and he told me he can arrange anything i want. So i got a few channels i cant get with my antenna for only 16 per month.
Off the top of my head:
Sometimes programs dont go at the plan time
Sometimes the pvr hd is full
It's a shame that Discovery is a $10B company as it has unique and IMHO enjoyable content.
Another alternative is to start offering contests for aspiring talent. Top 10 winners for best iTunes shorts get a low-budget movie or mini-series funded. Terminator was low-budget movie at $6.4M in 1984. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was $5M in 2002.
A Firefly type show is around $5M per episode, The Wire around $1.5M, $5M for Deadwood. For $0.99/ep and iAd revenue it could be economically viable.
If hulu and netflix can negociate package deals why cant Apple do it?
If we're only talking streaming from a website then I think Apple could ink a deal with ease, but I have to assume Apple's requires that any deal include te ability to move the content between devices and store locally. I don't think Hulu has anything like this and NetFlix has this with their optical media, but I wouldn't call ripping for personal use convenient or legal.
Sometimes programs dont go at the plan time
Sometimes the pvr hd is full
Nice ones.
99 cents for a TV show rental?
Epic fail Apple.
Go Hulu+ !!
Epic Win actually, considering that the Hulu+ app will be running on an iOS powered iTV.
Go Apple!
Even light TV viewers would need to spend a lot of money to make it through a month at 99 cents/episode.
Not really. People spend $130/month on cable. That is enough to buy more than 4 TV shows every day, with no waste like cable has.
And think of how convenient it will be to have subscriptions. It will be just like a DVR, but a LOT better.
I think that even if it costs a few bucks a month, that it is so much better than cable it is ridiculous. The final price is nowhere near as important as the final User Experience. Happy Apple customers don't care about spending more money in order to get their User Experience from Apple, because it is so worth it.
Not really. People spend $130/month on cable. That is enough to buy more than 4 TV shows every day, with no waste like cable has..
Just let me know when Apple sends the same QUALITY that my cable provider offers...
Just let me know when Apple sends the same QUALITY that my cable provider offers...
How do you define quality? You can?t just go by bit rate if they are using different codecs. Aren?t most cable companies transmitting in MPEG2? Is there an equivalency formula for MPEG2 and H.264?