Here is more on 2010
predictions. I am a great fan of Apple. I have a Mac, and iPod, and an iPhone.
Now there are rumors about Apple taking its already big iTunes library of TV
shows and its Apple TV hardware device and greatly expanding what content they
offer and what they can do. Rumors are surfacing in such posts as: 2010’s
hottest contenders: 8 products to watch, iTunes turned the music market on its
head. Could iTunes TV do the same for TV?, and more aggressively, Apple May Be On The Verge Of Kneecapping The Cable
Industry. Finally. This move would certainly enhance the convergence of TV and
the Web I have been discussing from time to time.
Venture Beat writes that
iTunes TV is “likely to do for TV what iPod did for music
industry. Apple, as usual, will bundle the service with its hardware to sell
more Apple TVs. In the meantime, better broadband speeds and dedicated hardware
will make the internet-TV watching experience comparable to TV quality on
cable. Key, however, will be Apple’s ability to get content producers on
board.”
There are a number of hurdles here. For now the
Apple TV hardware device has limited functionality. I looked at it myself in an
Apple store and could not see the reason to get one yet. However, this could change if Apple was
able to bring in more quality content partnerships. They could do what they do
with music: break even on the content to sell more hardware. This hardware could
be several devices, just as iTunes music is a driver of iPhone sales as well as
iPod sales. Apple has the best hardware (outside of TV sets), including
computers, iPhones, and iPods to play the TV shows.
I am listing to iTunes on my computer as I type
this and play iTunes on my iPhone in my car or whenever else I am away form my
computer. Goodbye CD player. I
already have a big screen monitor next to my laptop when I am home. Will these
devices also become my TV player? Of course I would need a lot more memory but that is likely
doable. Another option mentioned is to move iTunes(TV) to the cloud.
Once all these delivery issues get worked out, the
strategy of cheap content to sell hardware would allow Apple to give better
deals to the quality channel provides than the cable companies. However, expect a knock down drag out fight
here. The cable companies have seen what Apple did in the music industry. Hopefully the consumer comes out the
winner here and quality content gets good distribution. 2010 will be an
interesting year to see what happens in this space.
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