The iTV cometh

There is one very good reason that Apple might want to secure broadcast rights for live Barclays Premier League matches: its rumored upcoming dedicated smart-TV set. If Apple wants to convince customers to buy into its platform, it must provide the crucial advantages that keep people tied to traditional television content sources like cable and satellite television. Live sports is one such advantage.

Apple could easily go the route of simply allowing users to access their existing content packages from cable providers and avoid its own rights negotiations, but that won’t provide any kind of game-changing TV experience that could potentially shake up the industry. Apple’s offering discrete digital delivery channels, like it does for some U.S. sports on the current Apple TV, provides live viewing along with other perks like the ability to re-watch past games and highlights on demand that provide a more tailored experience to sports fans.

Premier League has worldwide appeal

Despite Premier League’s English roots, it appeals to football fans worldwide. In 2011, 4.7 billion people tuned in to Premier League games, in more than 212 markets worldwide. It is the most watched football league in the world, and it is growing. In the U.S., viewership for Premier League games rose from a paltry 19,000 for one match in 2008 to 1.6 million for a recent 2011 game.

A Premier League partnership would add considerably to the value perception of Apple TV, both in the UK, elsewhere abroad and, increasingly, in the U.S., too.

Cash to burn

Apple also has the money to make a bid on broadcast rights for Premier League games. Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty recently suggested that Apple’s cash reserves could grow to $136 billion by the end of 2012, and they were at an impressive $81.6 billion as of last quarter. Paying $2 to $3 billion seems steep, but in exchange for a better chance of locking in the sizeable audience mentioned above, it could actually be a deal.

Whether or not this pans out remains to be seen. Apple is probably involved in lots of content negotiations regarding its TV plans, especially if it is planning on introducing a dedicated set. We will have to see if Premier League is one of the things that comes out of those negotiations.

Ed.: A previous version of this article spelled the name of the company incorrectly. It has been corrected to say Premier.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user rc!

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The iPad 3, iPhone 5 LTE and iTV are all unannounced products at this stage, of course. The iPad 3 has been the subject of quite a few recent rumors, including reports on Monday that suppliers were working on issues related to the manufacture of iPad Retina Displays, along with code findings in iOS 5 that point to the imminent release of a next-gen tablet device. The iPhone 5 is rumored to have a larger display, and the iTV has been the subject of plenty of speculation since making an appearance in the recent Steve Jobs biography.

Jeffries also cut its fourth quarter estimates for iPad shipments from 17 million to 14 million, which is still ahead of the Wall Street average of 13 million, following reports Apple was reducing its iPad component orders. Following its stock checks, Jeffries believes “reports have overstated the iPad weakness as they have not accounted for inventory at Hon Hai [Foxconn], iPad 3 production starting in CQ4 [fourth calendar quarter] and Sharp’s share gain.”

Parts sourcing for iPad 3 production has been reported to be already underway. DigiTimes reported last week that Apple had ordered two million display panels from Samsung, LG and Sharp in November, adding to an earlier order for one million in October. The components, according to DigiTimes, were intended for assembly at Apple’s final product manufacturing partners in January. And Monday, a DisplaySearch report also claimed the iPad 3′s 2048×1536 display had entered production, at Samsung, LG and Sharp.

Apple and Samsung sat down in October to discuss the long-term supply relationship between the two companies, but if Misek’s and other reports of Apple attempting to diversify its supplier chain for upcoming devices prove true, it looks like that relationship is indeed becoming harder to maintain. The legal battle between the two companies is really only becoming more pitched, with Samsung needing to make major hardware changes to its devices in Germany, and injunction requests flying back and forth around the world.

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1. Not just apps, but an app store. The current Apple TV has apps. They aren’t advertised as such, but the menu options that lead to MLB, NBA and NHL subscriptions, as well as the Vimeo and YouTube channels are basically apps. While doling out new apps in batches via software updates is appreciated, a real app store is the special sauce that will cause an Apple television to take off.

2. High quality live content. Live video could go a long way toward convincing users to switch ponies and abandon traditional cable or satellite providers for streaming video. Apple has done a good job of bringing sports to the current Apple TV, but it’ll have to deliver pay-per-view events, nationally broadcast live programming, and still more sports to sway users who demand to be kept in the loop and don’t like spoilers.

3. Break the bundle. The aspect of current cable and satellite TV packages that makes them most unpalatable is the bundle; If you’ve ever tried to order a speciality channel on its own, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Breaking up the bundle would probably be the most effective way to tempt users to buy its product, but it’s the part that Apple will probably also have the hardest time striking deals to achieve.

4. Games. A lot of the questions I’m seeing about an Apple television have to do with games. The reason? IOS did (and still does) an amazing job of generating high-quality gaming experiences at a fraction of the price of consoles. Suddenly, people who always thought picking up a controller was a waste of time and money are flinging things at other things like there’s no tomorrow. If Apple can translate its iOS gaming success to an integrated television, iOS gamers will flock to it.

5. Stand-out hardware. One question during today’s Q&A stuck out in particular: Why would Apple make a television set when it could just make a better box? The reason is another potential selling point; specifically, Apple could only justify making its own TV if it makes that TV really amazing. Apple definitely has the pedigree, since it produces industry-leading displays on its mobile devices, computers and computer monitors. Make a TV that dazzles and really looks great in a living room, and you’ve got a big buying incentive right there.

Siri integration and a unified content browsing and playback experience through iCloud and the iTunes media ecosystem are things that could make an Apple television interesting, but they won’t set an industry aflame. That’s what the five points outlined above could do, by reaching out to consumers and providing them with outstanding experiences in areas where a lot of current service offerings fall flat.

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Digg founder Kevin Rose is the source of the latest rumors, and he’s reportedly got the inside track on what’s going down with the iTV at Apple. As rumored, Rose says the iTV will be powered by iOS, bringing it into the fold along with the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The iPad itself will feature prominently in the iTV redesign, as a huge, awesome remote control. Along with iOS will come apps, too, according to Rose, and you’ll get everything for the low price of $99.

If Rose is right, expect the iTV to look a lot like the Google TV devices the search giant unveiled at its presser in the spring., minus the hardware partners, of course. As a result, we’ll probably end up with another battle of the OSes on our hands, one which mirrors pretty much exactly that going on now between the iPhone and Android devices.

Digital delivery of film and television content is definitely the future, whether or not cable and satellite providers see the writing on the wall yet. The living room may not be a central part of Apple’s current business model (Jobs famously referred to the Apple TV as a “hobby” in an interview last year), but for consumers looking to unify their digital lives across a variety of platforms, you can bet it will become important in terms of both at home and mobile device purchasing decisions.

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As long as you live somewhere within the UK, pointing your iPhone’s Safari browser at the TV Catchup optimized site will allow you access to Britain’s five main networks, including BBC 1 and 2, ITV and Channel 4, as well as six additional channels, including BBC 3 and 4 Music.

Attempting to access the site from outside of the UK results in a dialog informing you that you aren’t authorized to play back the content in question, which comes as no surprise given the general attitude of major U.S. TV networks when it comes to international access.

If you are in the UK, you get streams from each channel delayed only about 20 seconds behind the live TV feed. You can also watch in either landscape or portrait mode (using your phone’s built-in Quicktime player) and pause any footage.

Keen readers will observe that the BBC is already available to all on the iPhone via its own iPlayer web application (also limited to UK residents). That app provides on-demand access to many BBC programs, like TV.com does for various CBS shows in the U.S.

Apps like Slingplayer and Orb can also potentially bring live TV to the iPhone, but require expensive hardware and software additions to your existing setup, or at least an iPhone app if you already have everything else. TV Catchup only requires that you have an iPhone and a network connection, which can be either Wi-Fi or 3G.

No word on whether TV Catchup will eventually try to expand its service to include international audiences, or international stations, but I sure hope someone out there is watching and thinks this is a good idea. True, AT&T would likely try to block something like this because of the network load or because it can’t control access via subscriptions, but if it’s a similar web-based application from someone like Hulu, there’s little it can do to stop it.

Asian cell phone users have been enjoying TV on their mobile devices for years, thanks to 1seg TV antennas. It’s about time we started catching up. I suspect the last barrier will be stubborn networks. Don’t worry guys, you can still advertise to us on a mobile platform.

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Today, i.TV updated their free (ad supported) iPhone Application. The i.TV iPhone app is a guide for up-to-date local TV and movie listings.

With this seemingly minor point-release comes a major addition—Netflix integration. With what founder and CEO Brad Pelo says is “the first of several major third party integrations that will be announced through the end of this year and into 2009,” you can now manage your Netflix account (or sign-up for one) on your iPhone through i.TV’s interface.

All the management features from the web are fully available to you, including: searching and browsing Netflix’s massive 100,000+ catalog complete with detailed show information, ratings, cast credits and recommendations, managing your queue, ordering DVDs for home delivery, and even ordering movies and TV shows for instant viewing via Watch Instantly, which comes just in time for Mac users as Netflix has recently started to support the platform, though it is limited to those running on an Intel processor.

Another third-party item added with this update is Wikipedia. In addition to the detailed information they already offer, i.TV has added links to available Wikipedia articles for movie and TV titles as well as their cast members.

Other enhancements with this update, beyond the typical performance improvements and bug fixes, include many new services providers added, “New” notifier for new TV show episodes, movies can be sorted alphabetically, by review rating, by content rating, and by theater location; higher quality trailer previews, and a location-based service to find movies and theatres near your current position.

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