Why Apple Walked Away From TV (For Now)

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[Commentary] Yes, Apple has walked away from the negotiating table with the TV guys, which means you won’t be getting a subscription TV service from Apple anytime soon. And yes, there’s a dispute between Apple and the TV guys about how much Apple should pay the TV guys. But there’s a conflict about money in any negotiation. Apple’s beef with the TV Industrial Complex is a bit more nuanced. It’s also a significant one: If Apple gets its way, TV will undergo a significant change, just like the music business did when Apple launched its iTunes store in 2003.

Industry executives say Apple has spent much of 2015 pushing for a “skinny” bundle of TV channels -- limited to perhaps a dozen core networks -- delivered over the Web, which would retail for no more than $30. So while the price of the individual channels that Apple wants to package has been an issue, it’s the composition of the package itself -- which channels go in and which don’t make the cut -- that is just as important to both Apple and the programmers, according to sources. If Apple gets its way, it means the traditional pay TV package, which averages around 100 channels, will get shrunk by nearly 80 percent. And while TV executives will say they understand that consumers don’t want to pay for channels they don’t watch, all of them will argue that their channels are must-haves.


Why Apple Walked Away From TV (For Now)