Will Apple iTV finally break the cable TV business model?

[Deberg_1990]

Lets hope....Ala Carte Tv!!



http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansol...s-vs-channels/


The rumored future Apple TV could disrupt the current television paradigm by putting on demand and web content side-by-side with live television, all in a unified, innovative interface. Yet the path is clear to only two of those three elements.

The current version of the Apple TV already easily streams on demand content from iTunes and the internet. And the simplified user interface could be Siri-powered voice activation. But what about the live television component?

Right now, live programming from cable or satellite channels are the dominant medium for our big screen televisions. But that incumbent method is also extremely costly and inefficient. On top of internet costs, cable customers often pay upwards of $75 or $100 in order to watch more than a few basic channels.

Presumably, Apple wants to disrupt this market the same way the iPod and iTunes made it easier for consumers to buy music, and the way the iPhone is slowly moving the cellular industry to data plans over voice plans (see: iMessage, Facetime). Applying that same logic to television would probably cause Apple to pursue something similar to their magazine and newspaper “Newsstand” app in iOS, an approach laid out well by John Gruber.

But who’s going to control the app experience? This battle is already playing out in the App Store. Most cable providers have apps that allow their subscribers to stream dozens of channels live to their iPad. For example, here are apps for Time Warner Cable, Optimum, and DirecTV. All of these apps provide identical experiences for every channel — a basic live feed.

Some cable channels and content producers have gone their own way. ESPN has its own app that includes special functions for tracking your home team and favorite sport. CNN’s app displays a live feed as well as other news coverage. Major League Baseball provides a great experience for live streaming and tracking games on its app. Bloomberg News recently debuted their own live streaming app that comes with additional content.

As you can see, these single-channel apps are more fully featured than their cable company counterparts. In general, they provide a better experience, as well as a model for breaking up the cable pricing monopoly. If every channel had its own app, users could pay a la carte for content, a few dollars at a time, rather than shelling big bucks for hundreds of stations that they never watch.

However, cable providers won’t go down without a fight. Cablevision and Time Warner each ended up in lawsuits with Viacom over live content on mobile devices. They might consent to separate channel apps as long as each still requires an overall subscription. The ESPN app follows this model.

But would Apple go along in their new device? That would certainly put a crimp in their potential plans to revolutionize television. And if Apple provides incentives for channels to go it alone, the fight could be massive.

[chasedude]

Nearly everyone I've talked to about the bundled crap the establishment forces on us would love to have ala carte channels.

I hope Apple succeeds on breaking the mold much like they did with the music industry.

[Silock]

From everything I've read, a la carte won't save you much money if you still plan on getting ESPN networks. IIRC, they are the most expensive channels, by far.

[Skyy God]

Which is all academic as long as providers are allowed to cap bandwith.

[chasedude]

Originally Posted by Pittsie

Which is all academic as long as providers are allowed to cap bandwith.

Which is often controlled by many cable companies, catch 22.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Silock

From everything I've read, a la carte won't save you much money if you still plan on getting ESPN networks. IIRC, they are the most expensive channels, by far.

It would end the nickel-and-dime bullshit that cable and satellite shoves at you. I recently glanced at the options in my area. They actually have music channels (not video, just music) and shopping networks slapped into every package. Yeah, I'm sure everyone wants to pay money to watch commercials and listen to the radio. If Apple offers true a la carte programming, than that will be the first Apple product I heartily endorse an consume. Of course it's Apple. So it might just be nothing new priced as if it were a tech breakthrough.

[Dayze]

I would love to only pay for the 5 or so channels I watch.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Dayze

I would love to only pay for the 5 or so channels I watch.

Even if they were $20.00/month each?

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Even if they were $20.00/month each?

is that what the channels might cost? if so...eek. Maybe not.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Dayze

is that what the channels might cost? if so...eek. Maybe not.

I have NO idea of the cost of anything involved with this conjectured ala carte program. I only said that because in my experience merchants never ever leave $ on the table. People (not you specifically) look at ideas like this and think "oh, if I pay X for 80 channels and only want 5 channels then the price will be X/80(5) as though X were a constant.

[Dayze]

good point.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by vailpass

I have NO idea of the cost of anything involved with this conjectured ala carte program. I only said that because in my experience merchants never ever leave $ on the table. People (not you specifically) look at ideas like this and think "oh, if I pay X for 80 channels and only want 5 channels then the price will be X/80(5) as though X were a constant.

So basically you are saying consumers get better value for their money by bundling 200-300 channels together as opposed to paying for each channel individually. Makes sense. Depends on how they price these channels/apps...

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

So basically you are saying consumers get better value for their money by bundling 200-300 channels together as opposed to paying for each channel individually. Makes sense. Depends on how they price these channels/apps...

Not saying anything of the sort. There is no basis for comparison as the ala carte system is nothing more than conjecture at this point with no concrete price points for comparison.

I was merely pointing out that often times items purchased ala carte have a higher per-unit price than they did when bundled. It is atypical of merchants to leave money on the table; a fact that certainly holds true when the name "Apple" is involved.

[Bob Dole]

Here's a March 2010 list of wholesale subscriber fees. http://consumerist.com/2010/03/list-...-you-hate.html

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

Here's a March 2010 list of wholesale subscriber fees. http://consumerist.com/2010/03/list-...-you-hate.html

Thaks for posting.
There are some interesting discussions on that forum. Can't believe the Director of Digital Communications from Time Warner Cable dropped in to make a comment.