“Roku founder and Chief Executive Anthony Wood isn’t worried about streaming-box competition like Apple TV, even if he thinks Apple maybe should be,” Joan E. Solsman reports for CNET.
“‘Apple TV is essentially an accessory for the iPad. They lose money, which is unusual for Apple,’ he said Thursday, speaking at the Recode conference here. ‘If you’re losing money, why would you want to sell more?'” Solsman reports. “He characterized his comments about Apple TV as speculative.”
“Apple’s CEO Tim Cook earlier this month said that Apple TV, between revenue from selling the hardware and money from selling content on it, notched $1 billion in sales in 2013,” Solsman reports. “Roku, however, has maintained that, in the end, bigger technology companies making forays into streaming boxes actually helps Roku to grow. On Thursday, Wood noted that the day Apple launched its $99 box, Roku sales doubled.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: “Roku founder and Chief Executive Anthony Wood isn’t worried about streaming-box competition like Apple TV.”
Translation: He’s worried. (Or he’s delusional.)
Related articles:
Apple TV sales topped $1 bilion in 2013, becoming Apple’s fastest growing hardware – February 28, 2014
Tim Cook and Apple TV: A ‘hobby’ no longer – October 7, 2013
Apple TV dominates digital media receiver market with 71% share – May 29, 2013
You would think these butt wad CEOs would learn not to trash talk Apple.
Sounds like another Ballmer. A delusional ass. Besides, something’s going to break loose with the Apple TV. Be it Comcast, streaming full cable content, who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see what Apple pulls out of their hat. It will rock the industry.
I wonder if Anthony Wood has ever read Mark Twain…
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” -Mark Twain
FUD.
Good one.
Roku may offer more than Apple.
However, lets all remember, Appel TV came out in 2006 and Roku in 2008.
Without Apple, Roku had nothing to copy really.
Big words from Anthony Wood, but we know better, he is trembling in his boots.
So the AppleTV is “just” an accessory for the groundbreaking iPad…that is not much of a criticism. The iPad is great and that makes its accessories great, too.
By the way, what does that make Roku?? An accessory for…nothing?
Anthony Woods must have gone to The University of Bombastic along with Ballmer, Colligan and the co-CEO’s.
As old Bill (Shakespeare) would say, “lady (or gent, in our case) doth protest too much, methinks”…
lol
If Apple loses money on a $99 Apple TV, it’s a damned wonder how Roku can turn a dime on products at or below those price points.
I’m sure he’s not entirely wrong about Apple TV helping with their sales. There is always that crowd that at first dismisses a product like the 2nd generation Apple TV, which was shockingly small by the standards of the day it was released . . . . then those same people salivate over a competing brand when it puts out similar hardware. In other words, the Samsung-ish crowd doesn’t know what it wants until six months after Apple releases something . . . and there are millions of these people out there who Cupertino can do no right by (unless you can indirectly determining their future tastes).
Last I checked, people buy content with their Apple TV’s, which makes Apple money with each purchase. I don’t know for sure if Apple actually loses money with each TV unit sold, but that’s not its limit as far as generating revenue.
Doesn’t Microsoft undersell their game stations a lot more? Like to the tune of a hundred dollars or more? How’s that working for them?
Figure 30% of every purchase made on an Apple TV goes to Apple. Subtract out repair costs (mini-poll: Has anyone ever needed a repair on Apple TV gen 2 or 3?).
I’d call that a cash cow. Or more like money growing on the Apple TreeVee.
How is it that everyone thinks they know Apple’s costs, P&L, and business considerations?
That kind of pretense is pure ignorant arrogance .
Don’t we all have the Alibaba.com App on our iDevices, which allows us to easily price out china made micro-components into kits and track the wholesale price vs. retail sales creating net revenue margins on the fly???
No?
Oh. Right.
Did alibaba ahve a brain to go along with his sword?
He knows better for sure…
This is funny.
When I moved my TV to my basement, guess which device did NOT go with it.
If you guessed the Roku, you are correct.
“I want these chairs arranged facing forward the ship.
There will be a lovely view of icebergs later….”
-Captain Anthony Wood
Apple TV works all over the world, I’m pretty sure Roku doesn’t.
I’m also pretty sure Apple doesn’t lose money on any of its product lines.
Add this to the litany of stupid CEO comments over the past 7 years, to include “I like our strategy, I like it a lot,” “What do they do about US?”, “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in,” and “Amateur hour is over” (okay the last one wasn’t a CEO comment, but you get the idea…).
Roku founder and Chief Executive Anthony Wood is essentially just a tool.
Says the maker of a television accessory.
Maybe he isn’t “worried” per say but I’m sure he stays on top of any Apple developments in regards to the Apple TV.
I personally love both devices for different reasons.
Woodward apparently doesn’t realize that the Apple TV sells far more than Roku and is currently the leader in marketshare too. Roku may have doubled sales when the Apple TV came out but has lost sales ever since. And making those cheap USB sticks that have no upgradeability isn’t going to help them either.
What he likely means is that they’re losing money on the hardware so can’t understand how Apple could be making money if they aren’t.
Apple always makes a good margin on the products that they ship.
If Steve Jobs were still here, he would be worried. With Tim Cook, the political activist who told investors who don’t believe the global warming alarmists while the earth has been cooling for the last 10 years, I’m not so sure!
Famous Last Words, Roku!
Does this CEO realize that Apple could buy
the whole living room entertainment and game industry with its cash and have change left over?
Once again competitor CEO’s assuming (and hoping) Apple is operating in permanent stasis mode on a product line. Then BOOM! Apple TV out of “hobby” mode. Roku up for sale after the next two equally inept CEO’s throw in the towel.
I own Apple TV, but don’t own an iPad… Hmmmm….
I guess I’ve been using it wrong. Thanks for the advice, Roku!
Apple TV is now better then roku with the latest updates and airplay. I have Apple TV on every tv and my two roku units including the roku 3 is in the drawer unused.
*sniff*sniff* There’s fear in the air…
“…On Thursday, Wood noted that the day Apple launched its $99 box, Roku sales doubled.”
The market was just validated and your company was lucky to be in the position it was in. Now get ready for your product to be Blackburied by Apple.
This guy is a fool or he should go to school! So Apple sells more the Roku for the same price (3/1) but Roku makes money and Apple loses money!!! Do the math before you open your mouth. Apple TV t/o $1bn+ TiVo t/o .5bn- Roku t/o .3bn-. So who is losing money?
As a TiVo user, I think that if Apple bought Tivo for a couple of $bn (petty cash for Apple) and re-designed the interface/box/software, this would be a perfect TV solution. Because the thing that Roku or Apple TV don’t offer is the ability to record programs & play at your convenience & skip the advertising, which is an added bonus.
Looking forward to when Anthony Wood joins the “how do they deal with us” hall of fame quote wall.