“Apple has been, and continues to be, quite secretive regarding the number of Apple TVs that are in circulation. Apple neither discloses a total unit sales figure for the device, nor does it announce the amount of revenue it receives from Apple TV sales. All we know is that Apple currently uses the subscription method of accounting for Apple TV revenue, much like it does with the iPhone,” Andy Zaky writes for Seeking Alpha.
“But instead of allocating a separate line item for the Apple TV on its financial statement, Apple simply records the revenue under one line item called “iPhone and Apple TV”—leaving the relevant observer completely ignorant as to both the monetary and market impact of the device. This has led many Wall Street pundits, investors and financial analysts to fully understate the potential influence the Apple TV might have on the video market,” Zaky writes.
“For all we know, the Apple TV could be making considerable ground even as I write this article. Last week, Apple announced that iTunes has become the world’s most popular online movie store as it sells and rents over 50,000 movies per day or a little over 18 million movies per year. That’s with a catalogue of only 2,000 movies. With a huge customer install base for movie downloads already set in place, the Apple TV 2.0 can already be taking off,” Zaky writes.
Zaky writes, “Yet, while Apple has made significant inroads in its campaign for occupancy of the living room with its Apple TV Take 2, the Apple TV still has a long ways to go from being the perfect alternative to DVD players… Knowing the genius of Steve Jobs, Apple is probably working on most, if not all of them:”
• Where’s the TV Tuner and HD-DVR?
• Wireless Syncing and Streaming with the iPod Touch & the iPhone.
• iTunes Expansion, DVD Extras, Subscription Services and HD Content.
• Maybe a Blu-Ray Player?
• Allow DVD Ripping in a DRM Protected Format.
• Better Remote Control… A touch screen one perhaps?
Much more, including discussion of each of the above bullet points, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl” for the heads up.]
Want a touch screen remote for Apple TV? Just buy it for your iPhone and/or iPod touch from Apple’s App Store, right?
To answer the headline. It is doing badly and can do better by becoming a Tivo like device or Playstation 3 like device or an XBox 360 like device, or a Netflix like device.
Either that or sell it for $29.95 as an iPod/iPhone extender/docking station.
Nobody wants to pay for content they can record with another box for free or rent an unlimited amount of for $14.95.
“DVR assumes that networks and network schedules are somehow important and that they will continue to exist in the future.”
An alternate way of looking at it is that a DVR currently leverages the fastest broadband connection into your home (be it OTA TV or Cable) to deliver the best quality content for the best possible price today.
For Apple TV to succeed it needs to match the convenience, quality, price and performance of the supposed “Old” technology it is supposedly obsoleting.
I use mine everyday.
Along with visual hub.
I love this thing!
So many movies so little time.
Oh – and get rid of the in-store ratings and comments. That’s what professional critics are for. I’m sure that, to some, the latest teen splatterfest sequel is “the most awesome movie u have ever seen!” – but I’d still like the pro’s opinion on it.
grok, you say “professional movie critic” as if those words can be used in that order and mean anything…….
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We’ve had an Apple TV for about 3 weeks now. Everybody and I mean everybody who has seen it is going to buy one. It seems Apple’s marketing of this wonderful little box is not hitting the mark.
I’d like Apple to release a SDK so some more widget type apps could be produced.
The Apple TV is the future of media reception it’s just going to take a while for the Studios and TV companies (and telcos) to catch up. Thing is though those Studios and TV companies are shit scared of Apple which is why there is a drip drip of content coming to the Apple TV.
@shen –
oxymoron admitted and understood…
still, Ebert’s a little more reliable than ‘Stoked in Secaucas’
“The Apple TV is the future of media reception it’s just going to take a while for the Studios and TV companies (and telcos) to catch up.”
And Apple needs to catch up with them by making all free to air shows free on iTunes. Alternatively put a decent browser in it so people can go directly to network sites to play the content for free as they can do today on just about any other device. Do that they’ll sell like hotcakes.
Video shuffle please.