“The worst-kept secret this week was that Apple plans to unveil a re-vamped Apple TV, with a subscription-based over-the-top (OTT) TV service – the delivery of content over the Internet without a tie-in to a traditional pay-TV (cable, satellite, or telco) subscription,” Nelson Granados writes for Forbes. “Other sources claim the company just isn’t ready to announce it on June 8th, but even CBS has publicly acknowledged that it’s probably signing a deal with Apple.”
“But given the fast-growing market of OTT-based TV channel bundles, what will be Apple’s differentiating points?” Granados writes. “Apple can leverage its iOS / OS X roots as a differentiator. Few competitors are as strong as Apple’s ad-supported VOD platform and multi-device interface (iPhone, iPad, Mac). With its iTunes database of hundreds of millions of customers worldwide (and their credit cards!), the opportunity for accurately targeted ads will be very attractive to advertisers and content providers.”
“Apple TV may also incorporate local TV integration to differentiate itself from other OTT offerings,” Granados writes. “And finally, the Apple TV platform allows for even wider penetration in the home beyond streaming of content, since it can connect to HomeKit-enabled, Apple-certified gadgets and sensors.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The home automation play rumored for Apple TV – where Apple TV acts as the always-on hub for a wide array of Apple-certified Sir-controllable HomeKit devices – will be a strong differentiator for the Apple TV hardware, especially if Apple can keep the price down to levels palatable to Joe and Jane Six Pack.
Here’s a differentiator. Let me design my own bundle networks/apps/channels rather than prescribing the collection of networks. In other words, think of it as a modified a la carte offering. It costs $40/month and you can choose any of the following networks.
Apple can negotiate a revenue share with the content providers much like they must have done for HBO Now, Hulu Plus, and Netflix where Apple bills on their behalf.
The Apple ecosystem will be what sells the new Apple TV as well as other Apple products. Case in point: a few months ago my grandkids managed to make my Apple TV remote disappear. No big deal, I just use my iPhone or iPad as my remote. They actually work better because I can type in search commands.
Anti-Apple people will continue to buy the non-Apple products. They let their bias get in the way of smart decisions. Apple’s best approach is to continue making the best products on the market. The market will eventually follow.
I think Apple should fine the next “Game of Thrones” series to buy and put it exclusivity on Apple TV.
Once you get them on an ATV, the other competing devices become less interesting.
Apple simply needs good content services to make their hardware more attractive to buy and hold onto. Maybe Apple can’t monetize everything to be profitable. We know that streaming music isn’t very profitable but Apple should at least have something competitive to offer if there’s a demand for it. Apple always tries to do a good job at building a solid financial model, but Wall Street always has some negative stuff to say if it’s more expensive than rival services. It makes no sense to be in any business to lose money.
I don’t know how Apple will be able to make their streaming service more attractive than Spotify. In my opinion, that’s such a terrific streaming service. At best, if Apple could just clone Spotify I think they’d at least have a chance of building a loyal following.
One thing Spotify has that I hope Apple’s music service has is the Alt 18 playlist and the ability to download higher bit music for playing when not connected to any internet.
Creating ringtones for all our appliances, switches and locks would bring a whole new dimension to domestic living.
More on this here:
https://jmmxtech.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/apple-developers-conference-the-coming-revolution/