A few years ago, Apple was rumored to be working on its own streaming TV service until the whole thing was reportedly shelved. Those rumors have spun back up with The Information now reporting that Apple’s streaming TV service will launch next year to compete with Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Apple’s streaming TV service is said to launch first in the US and then become available in over 100 countries soon after. If the rumors are accurate, the service sounds like it will incorporate characteristics of subscription-based services, like Prime Video and Netflix, free content services, like The Roku Channel and Crackle, as well as add-on services, like Amazon Channels.
The Information says the new service will offer free content on iOS devices and will become the home interface of the Apple TV. Apple currently has a number of original movies and TV shows in the works that will likely be offered as the main content for this new streaming service.
If Apple does release a streaming TV service, and it does well, it’s likely that we’ll see a much less expensive Apple TV model in the future. Amazon and Roku can sell very capable, yet inexpensive $30-$50 streaming devices because they’re making most of their profits on content and advertising. The Apple TV, as well as NVIDIA’s Shield TV, rely on the sale of their hardware to generate profits. If Apple’s rumored streaming TV service succeeds, we might see the release of an Apple TV Stick in a couple of years.
@AFTVnews
AFTVnews
Where is Amazon’s free streaming TV service I was hearing was almost ready?
Can’t see myself buying an Apple product to watch Apple content.
“If Apple does release a streaming TV service, and it does well, it’s likely that we’ll see a much less expensive Apple TV model in the future. ”
This is Apple we’re talking about.
I suspect the ‘free’ streaming service will be used to incentivise sales of more expensive hardware.
As much as I love Apple hardware, I hate when they dabble in the content business. I want my devices to be content agnostic. Apple Music is a perfect example. I’ve spent years amassing a collection of my own music which I play back on Apple devices via iTunes on my iPhone and iMac. But upon launching iTunes, my own music takes a back seat to Apple’s constant promotion of their subscription music service. The entire iTunes interface is now geared toward shoving Apple Music in my face, making me circumvent it in order to get at my personal music collection. I hate it. I’m sure a similar fate awaits the Apple TV should this streaming service come to fruition.
Ray, I’m new to all this so I’m sorry for what might be a simple question. I understand you dislike iTunes because you have spent years amassing a collection of music that is now more difficult to retrieve. Have you amassed a large video/movie collection from iTunes that will now be more difficult to play in iTunes? If you bought a movie in another service like Amazon or Vudu wouldn’t you use their app or will the new Apple service no longer let you use Amazon’s app? Can you explain why it will be more difficult?
Hi Lori. No, when it comes to video/movie purchases, I could count those on one hand. I’m not one who likes to watch movies over and over, but we do have a couple of kids’ movies/shows that we bought on iTunes (like “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”).
It’s not that my music is unplayable or unreachable in iTunes, it’s just that Apple’s focus is clearly selling me on their subscription service, as it’s a huge part of the iTunes app now. If any vendor is selling a product you’re not interested in, their incessant promotions become tiresome, and the software bloated with functionality you’ll never use.
That’s one of the reasons I dislike the Fire TV’s interface. You fire it up and It’s chock full of promotions for the latest movies or shows. Besides the fact that I find the Apple TV’s user interface to be more elegant, it’s also far less cluttered. I would hate to see that space become yet another instance where I have to get past ads to get to what I want.
Ray, You can turn on off Show Apple Music Features in preferences in iTunes.
Bill, thank you for that tidbit! I immediately turned it off in my desktop version of iTunes. But where it’s really a hindrance is on my iPhone, yet I couldn’t find a similar option on the mobile version of iTunes. Do you know if it exists?