Interesting article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal purporting that CBS and Disney may join with Apple to stream video and television directly to consumer's homes. In a typically Apple-like move, they are providing a pretty nice carrot (e.g. they are offering more money) in the hopes that these content providers are willing to operate inside the closed garden of Apple.
Questions remain though. Among them...
1) Will anyone really buy Apple TV instead of Cable? Sure it is cheaper ($30 vs. $70 typically charged by cable companies), but is that enough? In some ways, this is an extension of the cut-the-cord argument we are seeing as subscribers move from traditional local phones to wireless-only...but the parallels can only be taken so far. Sure, Apple has 100 Million iTunes subscribers (me included)...but that doesnt mean anyone will pay an extra $30 / month for Apple TV. Honestly, I am not sure about this one.
2) Will it really work? One thing Apple has been really good at is rock-solid user experience. A lot of that has been anchored in near total control around user experience, delivery, applications and devices. When it comes to video delivery however, Apple really only owns the end-points (device in your house and server housing the content) with someone else handling the cables in between. Time will tell if that experience is up-to-snuff...or if Apple TV will be doomed by the people in the middle.
3) What about other video options? The internet (Youtube, Hulu, NBC.com) is full of lots of free TV / video content options that will serve to undercut the reasons to buy from Apple. In fact, the only way to ensure people pay more is to cut off options elsewhere. Honestly though, that is going to be tough for folks to swallow. And by folks, I mean everyone...you, me, governement, advertisors, etc.
4) Wait a minute...what if my Internet comes from Cable too? File this one under the "explain it one more time" argument. The best card the cable companies have is that they already control many of the Internet pipes into a person's home. That is of tremendous advantage for any war based on price...and where the playing field has been leveled. Don't get me wrong, Cable TV can be beaten (see Internet, FIOS), but it requires a superior experience to do it. Can Apple pull that off?
For more information, here is the original link. Appreciate any thoughts you may have.
LINK: Apple Seeks to Knock-out Cable TV
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