“CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co. are considering participating in Apple Inc.’s plan to offer television subscriptions over the Internet, according to people familiar with the matter, as Apple prepares a potential new competitor to cable and satellite TV,” Sam Schecher and Yukari Iwatani Kane report for The Wall Street Journal.
“The proposed service by the maker of iPhones and iPod music players could, in at least some scenarios, offer access to some TV shows from a selection of major U.S. television networks for a monthly fee, according to people familiar with the discussions. Apple is pushing to complete licensing deals and hopes to introduce the service in 2010, some of those people said,” Schecher and Kane report. “It is unclear whether any networks have signed on yet.”
“Apple is revamping iTunes as it finalizes its plans for a tablet device, which is meant to be a multimedia gadget, according to people briefed about the product. The multimedia tablet is expected to be larger than an iPhone but smaller than a laptop computer,” Schecher and Kane report. “People briefed by Apple say the company is aiming to launch it by the end of March.”
“In at least some versions of the proposal, Apple would pay media companies about $2 to $4 a month per subscriber for a broadcast network like CBS or ABC, and about $1 to $2 a month per subscriber for a basic-cable network, people familiar with the proposals said. Those amounts are in some cases much higher than media companies receive from traditional distributors,” Schecher and Kane report. “The question is whether selling fewer networks at higher prices is better business.”
“Apple’s TV proposal may be changing as the company woos networks, according to people familiar with the matter,” Schecher and Kane report. “An initial version of the proposal had envisioned selling access to advertising-free shows from a bundle of top cable and broadcast networks—the ‘best of television’—with a consumer price tag of $30 a month, according to people familiar with the talks.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Don’t fixate too much on the prices and proposal details being bandied about as both are in a great deal of flux from what we hear. The general ideas that Apple is working on a subscription concept for television shows and, of course, a “tablet,” including its general launch date target, do jibe with what we’ve been hearing from various sources.
Ala carte of channels over the net could be a game changer for the television industry, especially if this catches on.
And there will be a sort of planned, mutual holiday extravaganza merging CBS, Disney, Pixar and possibly ESPN talent to WOW you with . . .oh, who knows, who really cares . . .
Hmm, I wonder who are the “People Familiar with the project” are?
There is a bigger picture developing behind the scenes, I think.
This isn’t just about TV subscriptions. This is about selling Apple TV. A whole lot of Apple TV.
Apple is about to do for television what they did for music.
This will be very consumer-friendly, as the objective will not be to make money off individual subscriptions, but to sell hardware.
Expect a subscription to be priced fairly low.
Apple’s going to need a bigger bathtub.
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A la carte would definitely be a game changer… good for consumers, not sure about broadcasters. I’d slim down my line-up considerably. My entire family could have more than enough crap TV with 10 or less channels… the 4 main broadcast channels and a few kid networks would be more than enough. Time-shifting/selection would be a requirement. (If it was just me, I’d drop sattelite and go just Netflix.)
I imagine the industry is trying to avoid getting caught flat-footed like music industry did. They just haven’t figured out how to ride the wave vs. getting swept in the tide.
And this is exactly why Comcast bought NBC/Universal.
Please god, let Apple drive a stake into the heart of the MSOs…
I thought we wanted to own our music?
@ROFLCOPTER: Music and TV are two different animals; while people can and do listen to the same music over and over (whether we’re talking a Beethoven symphony or the Beatles’ cover of “Roll Over Beethoven”), most people aren’t really interested in owning TV series unless it’s something destined to be a classic, say a “Sopranos” or some of the science/nature stuff from PBS, or something related to interests like WWII buffs grabbing all the shows from History Channel. Doesn’t mean folks don’t want to watch run of the mill shows like “How I Met Your Mother”, just that you’re not interested in keeping the permanently. The DVR and services like On Demand cable have already made the idea of “appointment TV” obsolete; subscription TV, where the latest episode of your favorite shows automatically downloads to your set-top box, sans commercials, could be the final nail in that coffin.
ROF – Yes but for years the distinction between buying your music and buying your video has equally been made, no more so than on here.
Basically, subscription TV is just an expansion of the current Season Pass service offered for many TV shows offered through iTunes Store.
I had to get away from ATT and unfortunately the iphone. This HTC Eris ain’t too bad at all. I haven’t come across anything yet that I miss from the iphone. I realized I was stockpiling apps on the iphone either just to have them or to show to friends. Apple better not put all their eggs into the app store. Android is gonna catch up.
“This isn’t just about TV subscriptions. This is about selling Apple TV. A whole lot of Apple TV.”
@ TheConfuzed1,
100% agreed. That’s why DVR on Apple TV has never been an option for Apple.
@ ADAM,
That might be the dumbest comment ever posted. Android will catch up, if Apple stands still and doesn’t innovate. In life, if people would just think through before they post we wouldn’t need obvious responses like this one.
ADAM, it isn’t your fault, it isn’t your fault…….ADAM, it isn’t your fault….. We love you.
ADAM
You copy and pasted into the wrong thread. Go back to the island of misfit paid trolls.
Only time will tell.
I like the idea of offering TV subscriptions, however I doubt that it will offer the typical household any savings over cable or satellite.
It makes sense for college students and single individuals to buy iTunes TV shows or pay per channel, but it quickly becomes mute when you have a family of four with different tastes in programming.
And no DVR is a deal-breaker. Personally I love my Tivo Series 3 HD DVR. No need for a cable box with a multi-stream cable card installed. Wireless playback to a second unit in the bedroom. Unless buys Tivo, I’ll only consider an tv as an addition.
Don’t forget that many communities have home owner associations that have contracts with cable companies. You pay for basic cable as part of your monthly dues even if you don’t use it (get Direct TV for instance).
So, my cable bill including HD channels is about $50 because I’m already paying for basic in my HOA fees.
The builder signed a 10-year contract with Comcast and this is very typical.
@Adam
“I had to get away from ATT and unfortunately the iphone. This HTC Eris ain’t too bad at all. … Android is gonna catch up.”
It looks like the paid trolls are getting lazier and lazier.
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…. and it makes the trolls that can post to the right site look even more suspicious.
Just a thought,
en
“The question is whether selling fewer networks at higher prices is better business.”
Better for consumers, and better for the networks. Only the dumb pipes lose.
It will be interesting how this plays out. We watch a lot of shows via DVR nowadays so if the Apple service replicated that then it may work. Rather than record and stored Apple may go for the direct DL or stream approach.
I’m sure a lot of us want to get away from the satellite / cable company. They take a lot of my money each month for internet, TV and phone. I still don’t quite get why it costs $50 a month for internet. $20-30 makes more sense to me.
Apple will have to provide a way to discover new programs outside of the regular channels people watch. Also does it make sense to pay for a whole channel? My wife likes True Blood on HBO but we rarely watch anything else on that channel.
TV distribution does need fixing but it is hard to predict how this will play out. The pipes have a good stranglehold on the whole system. Even if internet services succeed they are still beholding to the cable / satellite for use of their pipes. I could see usage capping appearing very quickly especially considering a standard movie is ~2GB of data from iTunes.
I don’t understand the comments about the AppleTV needing a DVR. It’s an on-demand service. My guess would be that as a subscriber to Disney or CBS that I would get all their pre-produced programming when I want (e.g. sitcoms, dramas, television shows in general).
To me, the more interesting question is how will, if at all, live events such as sports events be handled.
@DogGone
Try calling your internet provider and see if you can get a better rate.
I have AT&T;and the DSL Extreme service runs $38.95/mo but I NEVER pay that much.
I get offers from Comcast to switch all the time. I call AT&T;say I ‘m thinking about canceling and they ALWAYS buckle without a fight. For the past 3 years my service has been between $18.95-$28.95. The last time I was offered $18.95/mo for the SAME service for 1 year. The rep even told me to call back at that time to see what current promotions they are offering.
So I spend 5-10 minutes every 6 or 12 months to save $10-$20 every month.
Wake me up when this whole pipe dream involves more countries than just the USA.
@MacinSoft
You’re correct that you can get better deals. I recently renegotiated my triple play deal because the initial 6 month discount had expired.
Basically I am paying ~$150 a month for internet, HD cable with DVR, HBO and internet phone.
However if you are just interested in internet the price is ~$50 a month. The introductory price is cheaper but after 3-6 months it would go up again.
My point was that the basic price is high. Even my folks in the UK can get broadband for ~$20 a month. The speed may not be as fast as I get but for most uses it is good enough.
I would like to have tiered pricing available with a low price including standard service and a reasonable download cap.