Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content

Apple has been working for some time on a cable killer, and is looking to combine broadcast and select cable networks for a cheaper, better-looking bundle. But that isn’t the extent of the company’s content ambitions: As Variety reported exclusively, the company has even made overtures to execs in Hollywood about producing its own original programming, with the goal of building out a production unit that could one day churn out TV shows or even movies.

But no Apple originals are in the foreseeable future, and negotiations with networks to license channels have been slow-moving, forcing the company to postpone the launch of the service until some time in 2016.

Without that content infusion, Apple TV is just another box — and an expensive one: Numerous leaks point to a base model launch price of $149.

That’s significantly more than the competition, which already has been eating Apple’s lunch with cheap boxes and streaming sticks. Roku, whose entry-level devices retail for just $50, sold 34% of all streaming devices in the U.S. in 2014. Apple TV’s market share was just 13%, according to data from Parks Associates, which also has sales of Google’s Chromecast streaming stick and Amazon’s Fire TV devices surpassing those of Apple’s hockey puck.

Consumers are voting with their wallets, argued Parks Associates research director Barbara Kraus: “If I just want to stream, I can do that with a $35 stick.”

From the article "Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content" by Janko Roettgers.

Previously In The News

Nearly Half of Americans Looking for a New Home Want Smart Technology

A recent survey from Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC and Parks Associates found Americans are taking a different view about homes that are ready to move into, as an increasing percentage now requires...

Hulu Is Slowing, Hits 12 Million Subscribers Versus Netflix’s 81 Million

But growing membership is harder to keep up at the same clip for all streaming services, as more and more companies launch their own online platforms. As consumers shift more of their entertainment di...

Security Trumps Ease-Of-Use For Smart-Home Consumers As Market Reaches Critical Mass

Conducted through OnePoll, the survey canvassed 1,200 respondents in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on the IoT devices they had in their home and security measures people take (or fail t...

Netflix Is King of Paid Streaming, Study Says

Fear about missing out on the next big video audience has spurred programmers like HBO, CBS, Showtime and others to launch their own personal versions of Netflix. But the money generated by their new...