[opendtv] Re: Why Apple and Comcast Need Each Other to Reinvent TV
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2014 22:02:56 +0000
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
>> Comcast needs Apple, to prevent Apple from opening up the Internet to
>> TV viewers. Heaven forfend people should actually be allowed to
>> explore what TV is available out there.
>> And Comcast needs Apple to give the Apple Faithful an excuse to remain
>> safely walled up in the Comcast walled garden. Sort of makes being
>> walled up "cool" again, if Apple is implicated.
>
> The article did not say this.
Craig, I feel no compulsion to twist the words in favor of Apple. So let's
quote what the article actually said, and what it means. This is under the
heading "Why Comcast needs Apple":
------Quote-----
http://www.wired.com/2014/03/apple-comcast-need-each-other-invent-tv-future/
Nothing could help Comcast stifle that cord-cutting momentum quite like a deal
with Apple. Right now, Apple TV is a cord-cutting enabler. All you need is an
internet connection - any ISP's internet connection - to replace cable with
on-demand services like Netflix, a company that is emerging as a major Comcast
antagonist around net neutrality issues. A Comcast-backed Apple set-top box
would give viewers the full cord-cutting experience while still ultimately
tying them to Comcast's network. Comcast is already working on its own internet
TV options, but those in-house efforts will never match the value of Apple's
brand. As with AT&T when it was the only carrier offering the iPhone, Comcast
could gain subscribers simply by becoming the only provider offering access to
a new Apple product.
------End quote----
The last part first. "... but those in-house efforts will never match the value
of Apple's brand." What does that mean to you, Craig? To me it says, the Apple
Faithful will be happy to remain loyal subjects of Comcast, if the STB they
depend on carries the Apple label. Otherwise, if Apple steers them more to the
Internet, the Faithful will follow Apple and not Comcast.
The first point on cord cutting. Right now, the AppleTV box only gives access
to a tiny sliver of what's in the Internet. So it's not an unfettered
cord-cutting enabler at all ... yet. But it could theoretically become one, if
not held under the thumb of an MVPD.
If the AppleTV box remains exactly as limited as it is currently, but also
behaves as a Comcast proprietary STB, then this describes the Apple box the
article theorizes, and Comcast could control any future attempts at freedom
that Apple may potentially be planning for this now-limited box.
NOW that paragraph makes some sense. And all it's saying is, some parties get
benefits from collusion. But usually not the customer.
> The article starts by saying that the fundamental premise behind it
> is unworkable - while both companies need each other it is unlikely
> such a deal is possible. It ends by essentially saying we're screwed,
> that for the foreseeable future the problem is too big to solve.
Craig, there is a reason why, in my line of work, this kind of collusion lands
people in prison. The reason is that collusion among suppliers is bound to hurt
the consumer. Both companies "need each other" only to the extent that they
want to screw the consumer.
In reality, they do NOT need each other, **if** the consumer is to benefit. In
reality, Comcast needs to expand its Internet capoacity, needs to compete
against any and all other TV Internet portals, and needs to do so without
depending on a local walled garden content monopoly. And Apple needs to quit
trying to collude with anyone, and instead provide real Internet connectivity
for TV sets. With whatever UI bells and whistles they can dream up.
None of this is difficult. I don't begin to understand why you think it is. The
government is not forcing these companies to collude.
Bert
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