“The streaming service would be available on the revamped version of Apple TV, due to be introduced tomorrow in San Francisco, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public,” Grover and Burrows report. “Users would pay a subscription fee to Netflix for the service, the people said.”
Grover and Burrows report, “The Cupertino, California-based company is due to release a $99 version of Apple TV, $130 less than the current model, people familiar with the plans said last week.”
Full article here.
Shira Ovide reports for The Wall Street Journal, “As part of the Apple event Wednesday, News Corp.’s Fox and Walt Disney’s ABC networks are slated to be announced as offering 99-cent rentals of television shows through the iTunes store, according to people familiar with the matter.”
“Now, people who buy TV shows through iTunes to watch on computers, iPhones or other gadgets typically pay $1.99 or $2.99 for each episode,” Ovide reports. “Cutting the cost could significantly increase what so far have been relatively light sales of digital TV shows through iTunes.”
Ovide reports, “More revenue, of course, always is welcome, but media companies are wary of damaging their business relationships with cable- and satellite-TV companies, which pay billions of dollars a year to license TV channels and beam them into U.S. homes. That’s why several TV companies, including NBC Universal, Time Warner and CBS, for now remain reluctant to side with Apple’s proposal to lower the cost of iTunes TV shows.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Netflix on the appletv would be awesome but it seems unlikely. It would kill apple’s movie rental busines.
Not really. Netflix has many shows you won’t find on iTunes. iTunes has new shows netflix streaming has older shows and movies nothing usually recent. Even new movies on DVD to netflix are 30 days later on many movies where you can see them on iTunes right away.
It will likely simply be the iOS netflix app, not too much of a stretch.
“Users would pay a subscription fee to Netflix for the service, the people said.”
In addition to your Netflix membership or would this follow the same existing model already in play on iOS devices? Hmm?
I can’t sleep tonight. It’s like waiting for Santa. And when has Santa ever disappointed?
Looks like it’s a hobby no more.
I’ll only have use of an apple tv if it has a way to record tv shows, preferably without running hot.
On the inside of my last Netflix DVD mailer was an ad for a Roku HD streaming box reduced by 30.00 I figured something was up involving them and Apple. I was going to buy it but will wait till later today
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@ dave
> Netflix on the appletv would be awesome but it seems unlikely. It would kill apple’s movie rental busines.
There’s not much of a “business” to kill, and even less in terms of lost profits. I think I’ve rented a total of five or six movies from the iTunes Store, and they were all 99-cent specials. Apple would not mind one bit, if it meant using Netflix as a means to selling a bunch of $99 Apple TVs. I think it’s a great idea; hope this rumor is true.
I already have Roku with which I can access Netflix and Amazon rentals. Combine that with my Dish DVR and I’m struggling to see any reason to purchase the Apple TV? Why would I pay 99c to rent TV when I can just set the DVR?
Damn you Jobs! You know damn well I’m gonna buy one anyway! Wipe that smug look off your face.
The ABC app is great on the iPad. We watched the last 4 episodes of Lost on it and found the reduced and less frequent commercials totally acceptable. If this app was on my new iTV it would be even better. ABC said at one point the ad revenues coming from that app were high. Maybe this is the way to go rather than the $.99 episodes. All the networks could make their own apps. Then network shows would have fewer commercials, still be free and I could cancel my cable. All we need is an iTV with app store and let the networks jump in as they please.
Right now, TV shows can only be purchased on Apple TV. The price is $1.99 for SD and $2.99 for HD. The 99 cents are for an additional service: rental. It is not “lower the cost of iTunes TV shows”. Purchases will most likely not change in price. – But it makes much more sense for a costumer to rent a TV show rather than buy. Buying is only useful if you want the whole show, or in my case, children’s shows (Dora, Curious George…) that the children watch over and over again.
I wonder if we will see this in Australia. It was 2 years after itunes was introduced in the USA that Australia got itunes.
At $99 how do you not buy an Apple TV?
And…how does Apple make money? If Apple is pricing this at $99…essentially giving them away, and nobody is subsidizing them, then Apple is getting really aggressive in entering the living room.
It may make sense to do this to further entrench their overall ecosystem as well as to gain a foothold into a platform where they can up-sell premium boxes capable of more…and games.
– dave
The idea is to sell Apple TV’s (iTV’s) not movies.
Making the product (movies and television) available at the right price is the incentive to sell hardware.
Content at the right $ (or -$) is still king.
The price will be okay if 99ct is the subscription fee per show a n d per month.
What I want to know is will is work with my current Apple TV?
HA! MDN Magic Word is “Maybe”, that seems like how I feel about Apple lately.
1-TV worth watching is TV worth buying.
2- I don’t do business with NewzCrap (Faux). That includes watching.
3- I want to be able to buy season passes from HBO & Showtime in the current season- not on DVD release date.
4- If the box is streaming only I’ll keep my current Apple TV.
I don’t watch much TV anyway. What’s the appeal to me?
So, we’ll pay to watch the ABC shows I can watch free on my iPad?
“Netflix on the appletv would be awesome but it seems unlikely. It would kill apple’s movie rental busines”
Er… the movie business that was created to sell iPods, iPads and AppleTVs?
Think!
I don’t mind buying the few shows I watch. It’s still a lot cheaper than paying Comcast for the hundreds of channels I don’t watch but, still pay for.
Netflix is a good addition. It’s great for catching up on “old” (months/years old) TV and movies. The industry hasn’t found a good (consumer friendly) “new” TV replacement for cable or OTA. Hulu ain’t it–not enough programming coverage. And 99c TV rentals sure ain’t it. Not because I want to own – that “TV worth watching is TV worth buying” argument makes no sense. Unlike music, you usually don’t consume the same shows over and over. Comedies (e.g., Seinfeld) may be an exception. But you’re not going to watch The Mentalist again and again cuz you know exactly what’s going to happen. Also, the 24 hour limit is ridiculous. Busy people may pause a show and not finish for a week.
All that said, if Apple improves a/iTV and maintains some sort of local storage, I’m probably in for one. Netflix (and other cool apps) would put it over the top.
And… I don’t care about the politics of the people behind the scenes. They’re all idiots … but they sure entertain the crap out me with their crazy shows.
Let the AppleTV also capture live TV (like an old VCR did) and no agreement is required. The cable box or _ selects (or streams) the video and the AppleTV adds it to its medai and streams it like anything else. DONE!
Does anyone know if networks are owned by cable or satellite companies? If so they could block deals to new ventures in an anti-competitve manner. This could lead to break up of these companies.
@DogGone
Comcast is now in the process of buying NBC from General Electric. There are, however, regulations in place requiring cable companies owning the content providers to sell the content to their competitors. It still seems a bit sticky to me.