Apple wants to sell Apple TVs, but one hurdle the company has to jump is convincing people they need an Apple TV. What’s the real benefit of streaming Netflix or Hulu or whatever via Apple TV, when I can do it through a Roku, smartTV, gaming console, etc. What can Apple TV offer me?
Of course, the answer is exclusive content and services that you can’t find anywhere else. Apple dipped its toes into this earlier this month when it partnered with HBO to launch its HBO NOW cable-free subscription service as an Apple exclusive.
Now, Apple’s moving on to something bigger – a live TV service.
We’ve heard for the past couple of months that Apple has been in talks with TV programmers about crafting its own pay-TV service. A new report from The Wall Street Journal now offers a timeline – announce at June’s WWDC and launch this September.
So, what would an Apple web TV service look like? According to the WSJ, it would be priced between $30 and $40 and carry a “slimmed down” lineup of around 25 channels – stuff like ESPN, CBS, and FX. Apparently, there’s little chance it would offer NBC, as Apple and NBCUniversal parent company Comcast have had a bit of a falling out.
Of course, the lack of NBC wouldn’t really be that big of a deal.
The bigger deal could be the price. An obvious competitor in this space would be Dish’s SlingTV, which offers a bundle of channel for $20 per month. Apple’s offerings would have to warrant a $40 price tag – as that’s still a hefty price to pay for a couple dozen channels when you factor in the $40-$60 you’re already paying for high-speed internet.
Still, it’s cheaper than a cable subscription.
Image via Rob DiCaterino, Wikimedia Commons
