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Apple's Rigid Negotiating Tactics Cost Us 'Skinny Bundles' For Apple TV, Says Report (thenextweb.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Next Web: According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, the reason we don't have actual TV channels on the Apple TV is because the company tried to strong-arm networks -- and failed. Apple's Senior Vice President Eddy Cue is said to have taken the wrong approach. In one meeting, he reportedly told TV executives that "time is on my side." Cue is also accused of bluffing executives by claiming other networks -- specifically Disney and Fox -- were already signed up. The company also refused to show off the Apple TV interface, or "sketch it on the back of a napkin," as one media executive requested. Cue also tried to strike hard bargains, says WSJ. He reportedly asked that Disney put off the royalties Apple would have to pay for several years. Those 'skinny bundles' we heard so much about were what Apple was planning to build its TV experience around, too. In 2015, a bundle consisting of Fox, ESPN and Disney content was conceptualized (and priced at $30), but no agreements were ever signed. In an effort to create more original programming, Apple is scheduled to release its 'Planet of the Apps' TV show about app developers next year.
Luckily pirating doesn't cost anything, and I get to watch whatever I want, and then I get to own it.
The companies can fight all they want, it doesn't bother me. If they want my money they'll give me their content really cheap, and make it really easy to watch. If not, tough for them.
Skinny Bundles are a dream for all cable companies. The programmers consistently have refused because they know of the bargaining power that they posses. So Cue failed; big deal. He refused to compromise by overpaying for ridiculously targeted shows. This is good for the industry. And maybe one day, they'll break.
You call $30/mo skinny? $30 for a lifetime is skinny..
The old media companies are infamous for their inflexibility, so this comes as no surprise. The only way to break them is to actually start taking sizable portions of their market by producing well received content but when you get to that point, you might as well tell them to fuck off because you don't actually need them anymore.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
The WSJ piece was an obvious force fed piece from the TV industry. It's the equivalent of the Taxi industry writing about Uber. No love.
I'm sure the industry would have kowtowed if Mr. Cue had worn an suit rather than a hawaii shirt and we'd all have skinny bundles and ponies.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
All of the things you mentioned you can play on an AppleTV. Most have AppleTV apps, the few that do not (like Amazon Prime) I can if I wish Airplay from phone to the TV...
It's been especially nice for some things like HBO Go and Starz, because there is a good AppleTV app I could fire up to watch content - but the absolute best aspect by far is that I can sign up for service on those apps through Apple as subscriptions, which means I can *easily* cancel them and just buy in month intervals... HBO bored me by the time Game Of Thrones was over, so I just cut off the subscription until something compelling leads my to subscribe again...
In that way Apple actually has provided the "thin bundles" they wanted, only even thinner - because most channels have individual AppleTV apps now or are building them, so I can truly pay just for content I find interesting, for the period of time that suits me (in monthly increments). I could get an MLB app too if I cared about baseball and get every game instead of the cable bundles which come with restrictions or don't offer all games...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Actors are on the way out because of course as computers increase in capability so virtual acting bots become possible and they live forever
I was with you until you took a left turn into sheer fantasy. The most compelling stories are about humans (or analogies), after all, so I have a hard time believing we'll be discarding the human element entirely from story-driven entertainment. After all, even though we can play back musical recordings with perfect fidelity, music-lovers still flock to live entertainment.
Also, paragraphs > giantwallsofindecipherabletext.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
I'd always been under the impression it was the networks that tended to be the "bullies" that were doing the "strong-arming" around the block? I guess life's rough when you're used to being the 400lb gorilla when the 600lb gator enters the scene.
Reminds me of a very dated newspaper cartoon from a long time ago, picture godzilla (labeled "Microsoft") rampaging through a city. He gets surprised by a tap on the shoulder from a much larger godzilla, labelled "AOL". Yeah, that was a long time ago, but you get the idea.
Moral of the story: bullying is OK as long as you're the one DOING the bullying, but quicky becomes NOT cool when you're the one GETTING bullied. I find it very hard to be sympathetic to a bully who just got the tables turned on them. Cry me a river.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.