Comments on: How an App Store Could Revolutionize the TV Industry

By: Emil

Emil — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:58:57 +0000

I agree that an App Store for AppleTV is superb idea. Don’t forget a special version of iAd optimized to play ads during video playback in order for content providers to offer ad supported content. Content providers can configure how many and when IAd breaks occur during a particular video. Apple can then sell that ad space and share the revenue with the content provider. This could also be extended to support live streaming. Networks could provide AppleTV optimized streams that encode iAd break times.

By: David Mullings

David Mullings — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:18:52 +0000

Some people are obviously mistaking “Apple TV” to mean an “Apple Television Set” instead of what it already is, a little box to access content just like a Roku box.

A new Apple TV (iTV?) with an app store built in would be great for content owners like my company because we could now build something similar to the Netflix or Hulu apps that allows individuals anywhere in the world who own an Apple TV to download the app and have access to content they were not getting before.

Imagine someone from India now living in the USA who wants their Indian TV shows being able to download an app from a local Indian tv station and watching the latest episode or news from that night.

That is what the app store on Apple TV opens up – local content can now be instantly international and accessible via television instead of depending on someone sitting in front of a computer monitor.

By: Tim F.

Tim F. — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:45:23 +0000

App marketplaces definitely bring a revolution. Even if Apple can’t carve out a tv empire on par with its music empire, it can be a platform for Netflix, Hulu, ABC, Verizon FiOS (Verizon is making an app to bring OnDemand programming to iOS already), Amazon, others — and still carve out a fair business for itself that may have premium pricing, a few more restrictions, but a few more advantages too.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:24:39 +0000

We are living the future, Thank you Apple.
At least for now…

By: joe frabotta

joe frabotta — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:07:27 +0000

The idea has huge potential, but it may be a bit early. Apple would have to really have their ducks lined up to pull the trigger on a mass scale TV app store.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:22:45 +0000

If there is a new Apple TV, it will definitely have an app store and it will have huge potential. This could usher in a new era of “smart TV”, a technology that could allow advertisers to target consumers more directly and let the content producers sell their creations directly to the consumer, effectively taking the networks out of the picture. I think $.99 is a bit expensive when you consider that you can rent a movie from redbox or netflix for that price. I wouldn’t be willing to pay that price if I had to watch adds throughout the show. But the technology would enable “smart” advertising so that consumers could choose what category of ads or the number of ads they want to see. I imagine if the individual consumer is willing to sit through enough ads, the content could be provided for free. Others are happy to pay for the content in order to enjoy a commercial-free experience. And TV shows are just the beginning. A TV app store could also give us games and much much more.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:43:10 +0000

Aren’t we forgetting about a little something called piracy? You can’t beat free. Why would people who file-share consider paying for new content when they’re available on streaming/torrent sites for nothing (albeit a little later than the general releases)? Moreover, the amount of content (certainly for UK) that’s already free (e.g BBC iPlayer) makes me wonder how this could ever work.

By: Tiernan

Tiernan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:24:29 +0000

I think that if rumors can be believed and we do see a new apple tv update the ap store will have to be included just to set apple apart in the marketplace. The sheer number of downloadable content media players out there means that apple needs to add something to there media player to give it that apple factor.

By: nerotozero

nerotozero — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:22:06 +0000

I think anything that frees us from commercial tv is a good thing. Advertisers should be paying us to watch their ads. Things are backasswards in a big way where TV is concerned. I’ve already shut down my provider and am watching NetFlix exclusively over the Roku Network. If they start advertising to me without paying me, I’ll drop them too. Paying for content plus paying for advertising is downright criminal. Pay for content, fair enough, pay for receiving advertising, hell no.

By: HD Boy

HD Boy — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:18:44 +0000

“…Instead of paying for needless extra content that consumers never watch (based on their own viewing habits), they can pay for content that matters to them…I think an App Store on the TV could really revolutionize how we watch and engage with content…”

I agree completely, but the reality is that cable and satellite companies (with partners) are both content providers AND internet service providers. Thanks to complicity on the part of government and the movie and television studios that create the content, these companies have positioned themselves on a chess board in a game conceived to maintain the same revenue streams if existing content businesses are outflanked by the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix and God forbid, Microsoft.

The traditional media companies will protect their existing profits at all costs.

It’s going to take some very clever product design, market positioning and leverage for computer companies to ever break up the cesspool of monopolistic practices and business relationships that limit competition for the content delivered to consumers‚ who are the pawns in this high-stakes game.

So far (since he won the game for music), Steve Jobs’ video and movie-related chess moves all have been blocked. We soon may see if he and Apple’s brilliant PHD’s are up to the task of checkmating wary studio executives and ISP owners.