Quote:
Originally Posted by wizwor
Maybe for cable, but the vacuum is in over the air. The WSJ says 5.1 million get their tv ota and that should push past 6m this year. Most of the players have left the arena, so there is opportunity. At 6m, though, the market will remain a niche, so competition will not be cut throat.
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If Apple wants to own the OTA broadcast TV market they can have it.
The reason nobody is going after it is because there is no extra money in it.
As you say, most of the players have left... because there is no business to be found there other than what the networks make of it.
Also, remember I said MS is trying to get their *own* "cable" over IP operation going. (Rumored name is XBOX LIVE DIAMOND. Just a rumor mind you but there are hints in their SEC filings...) So if you combine that with the LTE wireless 4G data services, MS would have something new for the cable-less 6 million.
My point is Apple isn't just "fashionably late" to the living room wars but outright late-late. Other players are there--not just Microsoft--carving out installed bases with serious products that aren't just a "sort of hobby". Whether via an Apple TV or an STB they will have to get some serious "wow" to get even a toehold in a market aready experiencing a lot of "wow".
Edit: Check out the 2012 versions of high and mid range home theater receivers from Onkyo, Pioneer, and Sony... Or BluRay players from Vizio, Oppo, and others.
It's not just "Smart TVs" and gaming consoles Apple would be contending with.