“Here’s Apple’s latest proposal: It wants to sell consumers a premium TV bundle, which combines HBO, Showtime and Star,” Peter Kafka reports for Recode. “Apple already sells each of those channels individually. But it has approached the three networks about rolling them up into a single package, as conventional pay TV operators sometimes do.”
“Traditional pay TV operators, like Charter, usually require consumers to subscribe to a basic level of TV channels before it will sell them a premium bundle,” Kafka reports. “Apple could sell the bundle as standalone product, delivered via its iOS devices and its Apple TV settop box.”
Kafka reports, “Apple currently sells HBO for $15 a month, Showtime for $11 a month, and Starz for $9 a month.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: So, what’s the magic price – the number that sell packages and Apple TVs – for something that currently costs $30/month? $19.99 per month? Maybe that’s too steep, but Apple could do what every fscking scheming cable company does and have an “introductory period.” Sell it at $19.99/month with an asterisk and, then, after a 3-, 6-, or 12-month period, have it pop up to $24.99/month. Although, that risks customer wrath as it’s one of the many reasons – besides awful customer services, horrible UIs, crappy equipment, hidden charges, etc. – why customers have grown to hate cable companies.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s Eddy Cue alienated cable providers and networks with an assertive negotiating style – report – July 28, 2016Google just succeeded where Apple failed – March 3, 2017
Senior Apple executives vying in confused effort for transformative Hollywood acquisition – March 3, 2017
YouTube to unveil virtual cable bundle for $30 to $40 a month – February 28, 2017
Stalled talks with Ron Howard highlight Apple’s content confusion – February 16, 2017
Apple vowed to revolutionize television; currently prepping an unremarkable 4K Apple TV instead – February 16, 2017
Apple TV: Still not ready for prime time – February 15, 2017
Apple hires Amazon’s Fire TV head to run Apple TV business – February 8, 2017
Apple’s new TV app shows just how painfully behind Apple is – December 14, 2016
Are you ready for 4K TV? Apple TV isn’t. – November 28, 2016
Apple has no idea what they’re doing in the TV space, and it’s embarrassing – November 3, 2016
Hulu inks deals with Fox and Disney, adding ESPN, Fox News and more to forthcoming live service – November 1, 2016
Apple’s Eddy Cue: Nope, we don’t want to be Netflix – October 20, 2016
Google signs up CBS for planned web TV service to debut in early 2017; close to deal with 21st Century Fox – October 20, 2016
Apple’s Eddy Cue: Nope, we don’t want to be Netflix – October 20, 2016
Apple’s Eddy Cue alienated cable providers and networks with an assertive negotiating style – report – July 28, 2016
Here comes á la carte programming – without Apple – July 13, 2016
Apple TV 4 is a beta product and, if you bought one, you’re an unpaid beta tester – November 5, 2015
Like many people I am waiting and hoping for channels that are purchased like apps in single purchases. We are not there yet though.
I do very much like the idea of channel bundles.
I very much hope Apple don’t do introductory pricing: in the long term that just creates customer dissatisfaction.
I wouldn’t pay 2 cents for the HBO, Starz, and Showtime bundle. But I would pay for TCM, Filmstruck, and perhaps NatGeo and the Science Channel.
Fox bought out National Geographic- it will be circling the bowl soon enough. More fucking Murdochvision.
Cueless!
I don’t want bundles. I want on-demand a la carte. Netflix (almost) has the correct business model.
Yep agree. It would be nice if there weren’t cable providers or “channels” like HBO, Showtime, etc. I’d rather just pay for good content I like OR have an all you can eat model.
I’m sure this is undoable but a model like iTunes where I just buy the songs I like OR pay a subscription and get all you can eat on any device, anywhere, anytime.
The TV industry is killing themselves by making me not want to hassle with it given the current available models and loads of crappy content I have to sift through to find something decent to watch.
Agree also that the industry is leaving $$$ on the table (because in my case that’s an absolute fact, although the sample size is rather small – me).
They’ve been making money with their current business models for a long time and the prospect of rocking that boat is unsettling. Some won’t change until they’re forced to. But the early disrupters have an opportunity to reshape the market to their advantage, establishing a dominant position for themselves over the next few years.
The question I have is how much of each ‘group’ will they have in that bundle. HBO on Spectrum (formerly Time Warner in Hawaii) for example has 6 channels in the HD section alone (HBO, HBO2, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Comedy, HBO Zone).
Smithsonian Earth, Curiosity Stream (created by the founder of Discovery Channel before it sucked), CNBC International Feed, Bloomberg, France24, Sky News, BBC World News, the London CNN International Feed – not the US version of CNN International, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Turner Classic Movies, Filmstruck.
All live and with inline DVR capability.
That would be a bundle I would pay for. I would gladly pay for non-US sourced English Language Programming. I want PPV for the few College Football Games and Bowls I watch- other than that I have no use for the 24/7/365 sports gossip of ESPN/CBS Sports/NBC Sports, Fox Sports. Most Sports Radio and TV is just gossip about athletes instead of what E! and TMZ do about entertainment celebs- exactly why ESPN keeps adding women to their gossip shows.
Ooooo, fooled us there with fscking. I’ll have to go look that one up.
The only channel/app my wife wants is HGTV.