“There are coincidences in this world, and it’s important not to read too much into them. Pandora playing the song stuck in your head doesn’t make you psychic. But then there are coincidences you can’t help but think might mean a little bit more,” Brian Barrett reports for Gizmodo. “Like, say, three heavy hitter holdouts all hopping on Apple TV within two days of each other.”
“Two days ago, word came down that Hulu Plus had crash-landed on Apple TV,” Barrett reports. “It’s hard to overstate what a big deal this is; the assumption had long been that Apple didn’t want Hulu on its streaming box because it directly competes with Apple’s own (highly profitable) iTunes offerings. Who’s going to buy a $30 season pass to Modern Family when when it’s rolled into your $8/month Hulu Plus subscription?”
Barrett reports, “Then, yesterday, we get Amazon Instant Video on the iPad. Amazon Prime members have wanted this for a long time, but it was an even bigger weed in Apple’s walled garden than Hulu Plus. Not only does Amazon have a selection of for-purchase digital movies and TV shows that rivals Apple’s, its prices are always competitive with iTunes (and often cheaper). It currently makes zero sense for Apple to allow Instant Video on the iPad, and it’s not like Cupertino had to open that door for any reason. Apple can—and does—reject any app it deems too similar to iTunes… Last, Apple added Sky Now TV (a smaller-scale Netflix) in the UK. It hasn’t really registered here in the US, but that makes three major content providers—read: competitors—that Apple’s embraced in two days.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
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