“TV networks have fiercely resisted selling their services individually; but in doing so, they’ve allowed something better to blossom,” Jared Newman writes for TechHive.
“Most people wouldn’t categorize Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, or Hulu as a la carte channels. They’ve never been part of any standard pay-TV package, and they don’t have linear programming feeds that you can flip through on a set-top box. And with vast catalogs of video on demand—much of which you’ll never watch—these streaming services are really, at a certain level, miniature bundles,” Newman writes. “But at their core, aren’t channels just mini-bundles too?”
“The difference compared to cable, of course, is that you don’t have to subscribe to all of these options, which in turn pits them directly against each other and creates fiercer competition. Amazon and Netflix are in an arms race to produce the best original programming, yet each has enacted only one price hike over the years. Meanwhile, lower-profile services like Crackle are completely free and ad-supported, while still producing interesting niche content, such as Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” Newman writes. “This is how it should work, with interesting channels competing for your business instead of cramming your cable bill.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As this unfolds, and traditional TV networkss continue to wise up, it opens up many possibilities for Apple TV’s future.