“Before the Apple TV was launched in September, some expected that Apple would be announcing a new subscription TV plan,” Gene Steinberg writes for The Tech Night Owl. “It was supposed to include the four major broadcast networks — CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox (no mention of the CW) — a smattering of cable TV channels, possibly some premium networks such as HBO and Showtime, and even your local stations.”
“All this slimmed down joy would come at a price ranging from $20 to $40. But it never showed up during the rollout of the Apple TV amid predictions it was put off until 2016,” Steinberg writes. “Indeed, some felt the new set-top box was a disappointment, since it lacked 4K (Ultra HD) support and had new features that weren’t daringly different from such major competitors as the latest Amazon Fire TV and the Roku 4.”
“Apple is facing serious headwinds in dealing with the content providers. This is no doubt true with Comcast, which owns all the NBC networks that include, in addition to the broadcast network, such popular watering holes as USA and Syfy. There’s a bunch, and I won’t bother to list them all,” Steinberg writes. “Suffice it to say that Comcast might not appreciate accepting a lower carriage fee, or even unbundling, so not all channels are included. Add to that other networks taking similar approaches, and there may have been a huge resistance to Apple’s scheme.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: So, cobbling together whatever lineup of individually paid services and paying individually for each of them is a messy PITA. We’d like to see Apple offer a way to unify all of these apps (channels/networks) into one simple bill, at least.
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