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

Humanizing Connected Home Experiences: Using Machine Learning and Voice Control

Comcast’s senior executive Sridhar Solur will provide the opening keynote: “Humanizing Connected Home Experiences: Using Machine Learning and Voice Control” at the 21st-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premie...

Smart Home Gadgets Need To Live Together

Smart home technology that has long been knocking at doors will settle into the mainstream after rival gadgets and services become hassle-free guests that get along with one another, industry insiders...

Nearly Half Of Homebuyers Want Smart Homes

This survey was conducted by Parks Associates on behalf of the Coldwell Banker brand within the United State, June 6 to 9, 2016 through a third party via an online omnibus product. The survey was cond...

Hulu Valued At $5.8 Billion After Time Warner Investment

The new Hulu service is an attempt by its traditional entertainment company owners to secure their footing in television’s digital future, where streaming has become the norm and competition from deep...