
Why Apple's iTV Will Change Everything - sant0sk1
http://kevinrose.com/blogg/2010/8/21/why-apples-itv-will-change-everything.html
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nostromo
I wish this was the case -- but it will take a while for this to become true.
Primarily because the big cable dinosaurs, like Comcast, aren't dumb and have
seen the writing on the wall for a while. That's why Comcast is buying up
content -- like NBC.

They know that without content, nobody will buy iTVs -- just like how Apple
needed to get MP3s to the masses to sell iPods. They've watched as Apple has
become the only big player for digital music and they're afraid of handing the
reigns of the video industry over to Apple. For Apple to sell iTVs, they'll
need to figure out where the content comes from. (No, mom won't bittorrent.)

If I was Apple -- I would get the content providers to the table by
threatening to make iTV a TiVo-style box. In other words, bring your paid
content to the table, or I'm going to help kill your industry with the best
commercial-skipping set top box on the market.

He's exactly right about gaming though -- I would be worried if I were
Nintendo.

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photon_off
> no, mom won't use bittorrent

I introduced my mom, once a DVD collector, to bittorrent. She hasn't purchased
many DVDs since and maintains a collection of hundreds of movies on external
harddrives. I guess I have a cool mom.

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parenthesis
There's a problem with Apple using the iTV name: there is a television network
in the UK called ITV which would take (surely justified) legal action:

[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7947882/ITV-
woul...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7947882/ITV-would-
contest-Apple-TV-plans.html)

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nostromo
Tell that to Cisco's iPhone or Fujitsu's iPad. :-)

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cstross
It's not just _a_ TV network in the UK, it's the _biggest_ network.

ITV is the #1 commercial channel, has been around for roughly 50 years, and
viewing figures exceed BBC 1, the BBC's flagship channel. They are, in fact,
the 500lb gorilla of British television.

IIRC The Register reported last week that ITV's lawyers were already seeking a
high court injunction restraining Apple from using the name. And it's still
only a rumour.

The trademarks Apple stomped on recently -- like iPad or iPhone -- were for
marginal/semi-abandoned products. The core trademark (the actual name) of a
major media corporation is something else entirely. ITV will fight to the
death over this, and they're big enough to give Apple a black eye.

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Shakattack
It does make sense for TVs to eventually shift to this, even if Apple isn't
the one to do it (though there are few better innovating companies - if any).
9 months of the year I don't have cable, and I barely miss it. Agree with what
others said about content, and if major players refuse to commit then it'll be
a slow transition, but that's where iAd comes in.

If Apple really is serious about AppleTV (more than just a hobby), then iAd is
brilliant. Ads suck these days, the best ads are probably the ones by Apple
(okay and I love the dos equis ones too). iAd brings interaction to the
already visual experience, basically it makes an ad that I'm much more
interested in watching. If Apple can get major networks on board by providing
them comparable revenue through iAds, then it really could change everything.

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blocke
Or you can live it now with Roku. You know, that box that came out from a no-
name company two years ago for $99.

Netflix instant, Amazon VOD, crapload of other channels. Why wait?

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pclark
You've just described Boxee.

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theBobMcCormick
Why iTV specifically? How is this different than Boxee or GoogleTV?

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michaelbuckbee
Apple's existing agreements with content providers for the iTunes store and
their consumer marketing prowess set them apart.

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trezor
In the US. In the rest of the world there is garrr and pirating as usual.

