Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and the Discovery Channel are among the channels that could be making their way to Apple’s reported new web TV service, as the WSJ reports that Apple is in talks with Discovery and Viacom. The paper had earlier said that Apple’s online TV service would be announced in June and launched in September with 25+ channels.
Discovery, owner of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC, and Viacom, owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, are in talks to be on the Apple service, people familiar with the matter said.
We first heard about the plans in early February. ABC, CBS and Fox are already believed to be on board for the service, which is expected to cost somewhere in the $25-40/month range …
One notable absence from the planned line-up is NBC, believed to be due to a falling-out between Apple and Comcast. The latest information is that NBC instead plans an Apple TV app in the second half of this year. This would, however, still require a cable subscription to allow access.
It has also been suggested that Apple may be offering to share viewing data with its TV partners as a sweetener to persuade them to sign-up, something which seems at odds with its strong stance on data privacy.
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The kicker – 4k streaming from these providers since the web doesn’t have MPEG streaming caps like cable does with ocap
The only problem is that ISPs are inacting data caps now, and it will only get worse once Apple releases this and destroys them all. Honestly Apple needs to provide data too.
Could the rumor of Apple buying their own satellite support this?
The REAL killer shot Apple could make would be a deal with the NFL. Now that would me a major coup.
Personally I think making deals with NFL,MLS, NHL,MLB to be offered like the new stand alone HBO GO would be the way to go for those kind of things. Personally think they need to make the Apple TV work like plugins. You can search for anything and then add in services like Sports, Hulu, Netflix, HBO that way it’s not completely a la cart but still customizable to some extent.
If this were the case Apple could also negotiate for only new seasons of content leaving back catalogue to other services to negotiate.
Other than delivery (internet versus dedicated cable) how is this any different then cable? It doesn’t appear that we can buy ala carte. So, Apple hasn’t made cable any better they just joined the ranks of also rans. Not sure why this is such a big deal.
Of course, everything is still speculation at this point so maybe it will be different and better then cable.
MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. Apple wants the stoner market.
Would the Discovery and Viamcom channels be in addition to the already 25+ planned channels or do these channels make up part of the 25+ channels planned?
Unknown as yet
Apple better start courting networks that aren’t already on Hulu. If it ends up launching with Fox, FX, ABC, Comedy Central, and Nick as the big channels I can’t imagine it getting many subscribers at over 4 times the price of Hulu. They need things like Syfy, AMC, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel (and XD/Junior) that other options don’t have.
NBC-Comcast is showing why a cable provider should not own a major channel.
Just a day or two, we are going to listen how these cable services lining up against Apple to prevent the tech company from revolutionizing their market.
And unlike Cable/Satellite providers, they won’t need to make a huge profit off customer’s subscriptions. So I hope it’s really more like $25-$30 per month (They HAVE to have AMC), with HBO NOW it would be $45 per month and I would be saving $50 per month.
In Canada the CRTC recently enacted law that requires Telecoms to offer a Basic cable package for no more than $25/month. Hopefully, Apple will follow suit and price it at that end of the spectrum.
Additionally, the CRTC also ruled that Telecoms must offer all channels on a ‘a la carte’ model. Telecoms will not be able to require a basic package in order to activate a la carte, either. So if all you want is one channel for 2.50/month you’ve got it! (Plus any government sponsored channels like PBS or CBC are offered free over-the-air)
P.S. I have no issues if Apple offers anonymous, aggregate, collective data to Cable companies. Think about it, it’s just your watching data – and it’ll be mixed with millions of others. They can better program their channels and make content you want with the data. Now, if the data is shared and it’s $75/month: I’d be pissed. However, $15-$25 with sharing is fine…
Also – if they can do this with their Beats app to lower the price to $5! I’d be a very happy camper!
One issue is: Netflix originals. I don’t want to pay for and manage a bunch of services. However, I really like OITNB and HOC and UKS – basically the originals are killing it. However, there is no way that Netflix will offer their originals to anyone. WHY CAN’T NETFLIX JUST STEP THEIR GAME UP!?