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

Amazon Echo Show Ushers in Smart Home Transformation

One of the hurdles to smart home adoption has been the complexity. What happens now is someone orders a bunch of devices or buys some things in a big box store, and they plug them all in at home, and...

Hulu CEO Plots A Way To Stand Out From The Crowd In Online TV

Hulu isn’t the only company to recognize that trend. A host of live-TV streaming services are cropping up online, and the marketplace is growing crowded. Dish Network Corp.‘s Sling TV and Sony Corp.‘s...

Are Voice Assistants Like Alexa Making Your Car Less Secure?

Technology companies continue to throw everything from smart door locks to remote-controlled Crock-Pots into the marketplace, but coordinating such gadgets has been an elusive goal—until Amazon’s Alex...

Music streaming leads on smartphones

Streaming music is the most popular way consumers spend time on their smartphones, according to market research firm Parks Associates, significantly outpacing playing games and watching video clips....