Analyst: Apple TV Cable Support Could Bring In $1B Per Year
8:39 am, February 5th, 2009, Ed Sutherland
If Apple TV supported cable television, as well as iTunes, the move could generate $1 billion for the media box long considered a “hobby” by Cupertino, one analyst recently suggested.
Providing cable box support could also boost Apple TV ownership six times over, potentially creating 6.5 million sales of the media unit, according to Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi.
Sacconaghi suggested Apple TV could become an alternative to the cable DVR or TiVo with the help of additional software. Firms, such as Tru2Way allows cable customers to avoid renting a box in order to receive pay-per-view or other services.
BusinessWeek suggested Wednesday Apple could create a media box along the same lines as the iPhone, allowing third-party apps to be sold enabling consumers watch a wide variety of programming.
Since its 2007 introduction, Apple executives have alternately referred to the Apple TV box as a “hobby” and the “fourth leg” the Cupertino’s existing iPod, iPhone and Mac business. However, support for Apple TV has not been steady.
Posted by Ed Sutherland in News | Comment on this article
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Since Businessweek is so clever in predicting what the customers want why don’t they go into manufacturing instead of manufacturing words. America need great enterprises now I am sure they can do it because they keep telling others what to do.
Well talk is cheap until they put the money where their mouth is it is better for them to write news instead of opinions.
AdamC, on February 5th, 2009 at 10:06 am
IF the apple did this … I would buy it. I have been looking at appletv for years – but never felt it had all the bits to make me want it. BUT – add in DVR capabilities and I am sold!
-d
Don, on February 5th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Opening the AppleTV to third party developers would be a huge win for everyone involved. I would be very surprised if Apple isn’t already working on it. The amount of effort required to build an SDK would be minimal since it’s already running a (mostly) full blown version of OSX.
Cable though? Meh. It’s really not worth the effort for Apple. How much money is Tivo making in that business? Not a whole lot. IF they were going to do it there would definitely have to be a monthly charge involved to turn any type of profit. The market for people willing to spend $200-$300 for a set top AND pay monthly for service is not as big as people think. (again, see Tivo)
It seems to me the market for the AppleTV is very much geared towards the type of person who has little or no attachment to linear style TV viewing. The ONLY exception IMO is live events (sports) Apple should try to strike a deal with ESPN / NBA / NFL / MLB / NASCAR to get their online streaming stuff onto the AppleTV instead.
Sinister Joe, on February 5th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
As an Apple TV owner, I know I personally would LOVE to get rid of my cable box once and for good. However, I don’t necessarily want to own all my shows (other than The Office, of course.) But I DO want to watch my shows. If Apple TV had an option to either rent tv shows a la carte, or better yet… “subscribe” to a show for a nominal fee, I’d dump my cable provider in a heart beat. I basically watch 3 or 4 channels and a small handful of shows, but I’m paying for hundreds. It’s frustrating.
C’mon Apple… revolutionize the home entertainment market!
thelottery, on February 5th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I’ve got 2 HD TiVo units and NOTHING is coming between my connection to station and my TiVo. I’d only use it in addition to my TiVo units.
OlsonBW, on February 5th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Apple should buy Elgato and integrate the EyeTV software and tuner into AppleTV. Along with something like a limited Mac the Ripper capability to enable users to easily drop their DVDs onto AppleTV. I’ve got AppleTV, HD cable, an HD Tivo and EyeTV Hybrid and trying to smoothly integrate all of those systems and file formats, moving files around (usually ending up with at least two copies of everything) is royal pain in the butt. There’s a market there waiting for Apple to rationalize it.
Mike Segroves, on February 5th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I dunno…the whole CableCard thing -can- be a bit of a nightmare — and as some Tivo owners know, Cable Companies are less than thrilled to service 3rd party hardware.
This -might- work if Apple partnered with someone like Fios to ensure it will really “work” in the real world
Coe, on February 7th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Actually this could be a potential big move for Apple as easily the Apple TV could be engineered to work as a analog to digital cable receiver. Let’s face the music with the digital transition upon us Apple could enter into that market for consumers to be able to use the device as a converter and then coupled with the iTunes store features already present you would have your over the air TV signal with a potential DVR. A lot of people are already interested in the Apple TV already but I firmly believe that if people were able to leave their high priced cable service behind and still get: over the air digital signal, HD quality, and an OnDemand service. I say lets do it.
Edward, on February 20th, 2009 at 10:41 am