“Apple has pushed two new channels to the Apple TV today,” Mike Beasley reports for 9to5Mac.
“The first new channel is CBS Sports,” Beasley reports, “which allows users to watch free clips from a host of different sports, including the NFL, MLB, NBA, college sports, and more.”
“The second new channel is USA Now, which features content from the USA network,” Beasley reports. “Unlike CBS Sports, this one will require a cable provider login to access most content.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Currently, the Apple TV “strategy” seems rather underwhelmingly random. Hoping for some clarity come WWDC in June.
Whenever I come across a new AppleTV channel I click on it to see what it’s got. If, when I do so, I get a screen telling me to log in to my computer to a certain address, fill out a form, provide my name, email address and other stuff, and then put the code from the TV screen into the form, I immediately remove the channel from the lineup.
I’m not going to play that game.
This fussy nonsense is always going to hold back AppleTV to some degree, and they need to get rid of it.
I understand where you’re coming from, but on those “activation required” apps, I’ve never had to do anything more than enter my cable TV username and password. It just doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. Take me maybe a minute.
——RM
You miss the whole point, Robin.
I do the same as bob, and that’s to “cut the cord.”
In other words, if you have to have a paid cable service to watch on Apple TV, what’s the point?
If you already have a cable service, it might be convenient but for rest of us who have already “cut the cord” (no more expensive cable service), it’s a hassle and they clutter up the screen!
RY
I’m not disputing that. I’m disputing the notion that activating a cable-subscriber service on the Apple TV requires the cable subscriber to give up personal information to the app provider. It doesn’t. You just enter your cable password. Whether you’re a cord-cutter is another thing entirely.
——RM
You don’t even give your account info to the network. It’s a verification step – you log into your cable management account and verification token is sent to AppleTV directly.
I agree it’s marginally stupid – the only verification channels I keep are HBO and FXNOW but it’s handy to have access to the entire library of HBO on demand.
Not Apple’s fault. I assume the success/failure of HBONow will determine if other channels go cable-less.
Just. Open. The. API.
Isn’t the rumor that they’re going to do just that for the new Apple TV?
——RM
Awesome, I guess. But I’ve stopped using our Apple TV. When the new version (hopefully) comes out in June, I’ll get one and happily return to being an Apple TV nut. But my 720p Apple TV 2 just isn’t supported enough anymore. In the meantime, our PS3 gets all the services I truly need, so I’ve been using that.
I hope that the new Apple TV will allow for greater customization of app interfaces. Netflix has a similar look and feel on every platform, except on Apple TV, where it’s forced into the Apple TV standard interface. That interface was pretty innovative when it came out way back when, but now it just seems clunky.
——RM
Why would you want a different interface for every channel, sounds like hell to me, I would rather have a consistent interface within the device than supposed consistency between my device and those I am virtually never going to use. Isn’t that what we like about Apple that we don’t have a long learning process the moment anything changes in or between their devices.
I’ll turn that around: why would you want a different interface for the same service on different devices? Or do you only watch Netflix on your Apple TV and nothing else?
The Netflix interface on AppleTV is far superior to the one I get on my TV and on a relative’s ROKU box.
(BTW, the ROKU boxes are embarrassingly bad.)
Can you explain why? I find Netflix’ standard interface simple, informative and useful. This is the interface I see on our Wii U and PS3 and my friend’s smart TV. It’s all the same.
The strategy for Apple TV is “stealth.” Slowly add new content sources to Apple TV. Currently, most of the services need to be “activated” by proving you subscribe to the service through a TV service provider (such as cable).
For example, USA Networks gets its “cut” of my monthly cable bill. It’s not “free.” If I did not subscribe to cable TV service, I would not be paying for USA’s programming, so I should not have full access to “USA Now” content on Apple TV. The activation code that I enter at usanetworks.com to the current method to prove I “pay” my monthly fee in some way.
At some point (when Apple TV is no longer a “hobby”), Apple can show its content providers:
LOOK at ALL the content choices Apple TV customers have right now. Why not give them a “direct” way to subscribe, for a low monthly fee? They can subscribe “a la carte” or within an “Internet TV bundle.” Your customer can continue to pay “generally” through the cable company, or directly to you because they specifically want your content. You’ll make more per customer through us, and your customers will save money overall because they can be selective.
Once this “subscribe directly” option is available for more of the content choices, more Apple TV customers can make the practical choice to “cut the cord.” That “no longer a hobby” point may be this summer.
One man’s “random” is another man’s “incremental”.
YouTube has disappeared from Apple TV (2nd version that is). Just what kind of ‘improvements’ is giggle adding that make it incompatible with older devices like AppleTV2?