Slashdot Mirror
Apple Is Bringing a Billion Dollar Checkbook To Hollywood and Wants To Buy 10 TV Shows (recode.net)
Apple is officially open for business in Hollywood. From a report: The company is telling content makers it wants to spend $1 billion on its own stuff over the next year. That's music to studios' ears, and a tune they have been expecting for some time -- especially after Apple hired two top Sony TV executives in June. We still don't know what Apple wants to do with that content: The Wall Street Journal says Apple wants to make up to 10 "Game of Thrones" -- or "House of Cards"-scale shows, but that's not enough to launch a full-scale subscription service.
1/6th Netflix content Budget
1/4th Amazon content Budget
I can't wait to view more quality content like Planet of the Apps on my approved Apple iDevices!
You got deep pockets. Just do it.
Apple makes things for it's own walled garden. It's like if Ford cars could only use Ford gasoline. Or Lexmark printers could only . . . oh, nevermind.
Other content platforms, like Netflix, make their content as widely available as possible, not as narrowly available. As an example, I can get Netflix on RoKu, TiVo, as an Android app. Apple users can probably get Netflix within the walled garden. Similarly, I can get Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, Starz, YouTube, etc on multiple devices.
It's why I avoid Apple products. If I buy some brand of Android smartphone, I know it will work with everything I own. If I buy a Vizio TV, or a RoKu, I know it will work with everything I own. Including Linux. I can run a DLNA server, and a RoKu can play videos from it. Etc.
Apple hoarding TV shows and imprisoning them within its prison camp, er, . . . um, its walled garden, means that most people won't get to see those shows.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
TV is about to get a lot more annoying with different distribution methods, storefronts, DRM, apps with different interfaces and different feature sets, perhaps tiered functionality/ads, and who knows if each service is coming to your preferred device(s). Oh and different subscriptions with different rates.
Not sure how my grandparents or even parents will understand this, not sure I'm ready for this BS. Seems like a sure call for piracy to make another round. I might just stick to buying seasons of shows on discount, don't care if they're low res on DVD at this point if it's easier than the imminent tangled mess.
Or you know just quit watching TV and read books.
Twinstiq, game news
Actually, my thought is -- if Apple could put together 10 really good TV series, it's certainly "enough for a full scale subscription service" (contrary to the story summary)!
Think about it. Right now, you have people maintaining premium Showtime or HBO subscriptions just for ONE series they really want to watch. Everything else is really just "filler" that doesn't motivate them to keep the subscription. (Look how many subscriptions were only kept when new episodes of shows like The Sopranos were airing.)
Apple has plenty of money to be able to afford to license a lot of cheaper "miscellaneous content" that ensures their channel is constantly airing something. But a collection of original shows it could slowly release, interspersed with all of that? That would definitely keep people subscribing.
1. Caprica - it was a SciFi show spun off from the recreated Battlestar Galactica. The show started out very strong with great ratings, but it got a little sluggish in the middle of the only season and it lost a huge amount of viewership. It finished on an incredible high note and was very good after the sluggish middle. It's been "too many years" to pick up where it left off, however based on the "coming next season" previews for the next season that never happened there's plenty of footage that some sort of time-gap filler could be created to explain some aging.
2. Stargate Universe - It was better than it go credit for, but was sort of a knock-off of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica in presentation. The show was intentionally ended in a way where it could be picked up after a gap. Sure many of the actors have moved on, but that can be woven into the story telling.
3. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - canceled because it was too high-brow for the killer robot audience. It was incredibly good. Considering the time travel device being used throughout aging is all part of the game, easy to bring back.
There's a lot of other Sci-Fi shows I thought were ended prematurely or would like to have back (First Wave, Dollhouse, Firefly)
Special Mention: Invasion America, an incredibly good mini-series that wasn't finished. Spielberg was involved. Simply dig up the original scripts and as much of the cast as you can - it was a cartoon series so it can easily be resumed and it was murdered by the network tinkering with the scheduling. Nimoy of course would have to be replaced, but as a cartoon series it can easily be done.
One I would like to see re-imagined/rebooted: Earth Final Conflict - the original started out strong, but the cast began to desert the series, starting with the original main character and going on from there. Reboot it with stronger contracts in place. It got sort of silly trying to cover for the cast changes on occasion, but it had the bones of a good show - I would like to see a do-over on this one.
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.