[opendtv] Re: Apple Said To Talk With Cable Industry About Set-Top Box
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2012 07:47:43 -0400
At 3:06 PM -0500 8/16/12, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
Apple is trying to find the quickest way to expand its own walled
garden. In this piece, it looks like the author believes they are
trying to find a shortcut, whereby they deal with existing walled
gardens RATHER THAN dealing directly with the content owners, to
expand Apple's own walled garden. Quoting:
"By partnering with cable companies, Apple would get access to
myriad channels now available to subscribers, instead of having to
strike independent licensing deals with media companies and program
owners after shows have aired."
My first reaction is, let's wait and see what the actual content
owners think of this attempt at a shortcut. We've seen in the past
how fast the actual content owners were to shut out such attempts at
seeking exclusivity.
Bert
Have you been paying attention to our discussions about the way the
media congloms and their MVPD partners are locking up their content
in an attempt to control Internet distribution?
Did you notice that THE ONLY way YOU could watch the Olympics was to
see it through the "eyes" of NBC, while MVPD subscribers were able to
watch virtually every venue, either in real time or via on demand
streaming?
The fix is in - you MUST subscribe to an MVPD if you want to access
content from the media oligopoly, unless you are willing to pay an
even higher price to rent or buy content on an ala carte basis from
Amazon, Apple or other online stores.
The fact that Amazon and Apple have online stores should be more than
enough evidence that they have been, and continue to negotiate for
rights to popular TV content. There is NOTHING EXCLUSIVE about these
deals; you can go to Best Buy and purchase most of the same content
on shiny discs.
Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple may incorporate a
"Web DVR" as part of the new Apple TV service, noting that this may
require additional rights negotiations with content owners, even
though some MVPDs are already offering the same service.
If you want to talk about exclusivity, look at the deals that the
MVPDs have with the current suppliers of Set Top Boxes - primarily
Motorola and Scientific Atlanta. Even international suppliers like
Pace have been shut out of the U.S. market for STBs.
The notion that Apple might be able to compete in this market says
volumes about just how archaic the traditional STB interface is.
In an article today Forbes reported:
So, on this level, confirmation or strong suggestion that Apple is
actually negotiating with Time Warner and other big cable operators
about taking over the hardware and software for the set-top box is
indeed a big story. For a piece of technology that people spend so
much time with, cable boxes remain obdurate and inscrutable "black
boxes" of functionality. For viewers to feel intuitively comfortable
navigating the navigation of their TV experiences would be a quality
of life improvement for many.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2012/08/16/its-the-set-top-box-stupid-apples-cracking-of-tv-is-hiding-in-plain-sight/
The article also notes:
But in the same way that Apple may have seemed to have "eaten" the
music industry with the iTunes store, in reality they disrupted the
market and ended up being the biggest player among several. The same
thing could happen with TV.
The cable companies may ultimately not have a choice. Apple has been
selling millions of $99 Apple TV boxes and the next generation of the
product, rumored to include an app store for TV apps, will do even
better. The more consumers get comfortable with bypassing the
cornucopia of the cable bundle with their own (and Apple's) choice of
TV content apps, the weaker the cable companies' prospects are for
holding onto their business model.
My second reaction is, do you think a CE manufacturer should have to
deal with any of these shenanigans? If I were to design a new TV or
audio system, portable or otherwise, why would I even THINK of
underhanded deals with other umbilical system middlemen, OTHER THAN
to wall off some more beachfront property for myself?
What has stopped the CE manufacturers from competing in the market
for MVPD STBs, or integrating this functionality into their TVs?
Certainly not Apple.
It has been the MVPDs that have built the walls around their gardens.
Remember Cable Card?
How about Tru Two Way? Panasonic licensed the latter but has given up
in frustration.
So what has changed?
Just about everything. The TV in the family room is no longer the
center of the media universe.
Cox Cable is running an ad promoting the ability to view all of their
content on an iPAD. Clearly they understand that consumers are
frustrated with the legacy of the "DUMB" STB. As Forbes points out,
they may have no choice but to work with Apple, Amazon, Google, et al
to survive as anything more than a Broadband access provider.
This, together with the ridiculous lawsuit Apple is fighting with
Samsung, sure is sullying Apple's image. I'm finding it hard to
believe that even the faithful devoted aren't getting turned off by
their schemes.
Sorry Bert, but you are the one who is sullying Apple's image.
Nothing new here, you've been doing it for more than a decade.
Apple's success is largely due to innovative products and the reality
that they now have the power to disrupt long entrenched monopolies.
Remember when you had to pay >$10 for a CD to buy the one song you wanted?
Remember when Apps cost hundreds of dollars?
Remember when Nokia was the largest vendor of cell phones in the world?
Who Knew?
Now hundreds of millions of people around the world actually LIKE Apple.
Regards
Craig
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