SME #1: Apple and the impossible TV breakthrough
Streaming Made Easy #1
Here we go. This is the 1st edition of Streaming Made Easy.
Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.
Today at a glance:
Analysis: Apple and the impossible TV breakthrough
Streamer snapshot: “Universciné”
Content recommendation: “Fire of love”
💡 Analysis: Apple and the impossible TV breakthrough
On October 18th, 2022, Apple announced its latest Apple TV 4K and unlike new iPhone or Mac launch announcements, it didn’t make the news much.
I started wondering why a company like Apple doesn’t seem to be able to crack the code of streaming TV devices, a market dominated by the likes of Roku, Fire TV or Google.
For context, Apple TV 4K is a streaming set-top box that you connect to your home network via a Wifi or Ethernet connection. This new version comes in two configurations:
a version with Wi-Fi and 128GB internal storage (priced at 129$),
a step-up version with 256GB internal storage and both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity (priced at 149$).
It’s a long story between Apple & TV:
From the Macintosh TV in 1993 to the 1st generation Apple TV launched in September 2006, several generations of Apple TVs saw the light between 2006 and 2022.
Steve Jobs called the TV hardware business a hobby at first1. In 2014, Tim Cook said it wasn’t a hobby anymore and yet a year later they closed down their TV hardware department. Fast forward to 2022, Apple discontinued the Apple TV HD model and now sells only one model: the Apple TV 4K model (3rd generation). It seems we’re back in hobby mode.
Since its inception, we’ve heard numbers here and there from Apple themselves or Research Firms:
During the Apple Watch Conference in 2015, Cook announced 25M Apple TV sold since launch2;
In 2019, Research Company Loup3 estimated 53 million active Apple TVs worldwide;
Finally, in 2022, Strategy Analytics estimated ~10M US households use tvOS in 2022 (8% of all US HH)4.
It’s definitely not a commercial success and even more so when you compare it to their iPhone success story and its 1B iPhone users.
So how come a device with:
powerful components (A15 chip, 128-256GB internal storage),
high end technologies embedded (4K, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Siri),
a suite of Apple services (incl. 3-month of Apple TV+ for free) and 3rd-party apps,
doesn’t sell more devices globally?
To me, it’s simply too pricey.
It doesn’t make sense to pay 129-149$ for a device which does exactly what competitors’ devices do (e.g. Roku Ultra is priced at 99.99$). I would rather buy a Smart TV and plug a 4K dongle at 49.99$.
In addition, the remote isn’t super user friendly (although Siri isn’t bad for discovery) and the app offering is still limited.
For the Apple hardcore fans (I’m partly one too), I get it, you have it all under one roof but even the design isn’t the best class design we’ve been used to, don’t you think?
Apple isn’t totally giving up on Apple TV devices but clearly their strategy has shifted towards the integration of the Apple TV interface within third-party TV manufacturers. It says a lot that they got out of their own and operated ecosystem to ensure Apple TV+ reaches global consumers.
Hardware company love their devices though and with the expensive sports rights they are acquiring, could they give it one last try with their own branded Smart TV?
Time will tell…
📺 Streamer snapshot: “Universciné”
For this 1st streamer snapshot, I chose a homegrown service called Universciné (by now you all know I’m French, right? 😄) created in 2007.
It is an hybrid streaming video service (TVOD since 2007, SVOD launched in 2020) focused on indie cinema from around the world. You can rent (from 2.99€) or buy (from 9.99€) movies or subscribe to one of the three tiers: basic (6.99€), premium (9.99€) or cinéphile (15.99€) for a all you can eat approach.
I like the concept of including a couple of new releases (available for rent or buy) as part of the premium and cinéphile price plans. Library content is not always enough, subscribers’ thirst for new releases is then fulfilled within the same environment.
Aside from a great line up and the extra care put in curation, the particularity of the service resides in its genesis. It was created by LMC - Le Meilleur du Cinéma (i.e. the Best of Cinema), a group made of 47 French Independants Producers and Distributors.
Why does it matter?
In a world where blockbuster movies are king, it’s crucial to have a service which has at heart to feature independent filmmakers of all sizes. Sometimes, you just have to do things yourself and that’s what LMC does with Universciné.
To check them out 👉 Universciné
🎬 Content recommendation: “Fire of love”
Scene setting: Sunday night, a cold Fall evening in Amsterdam, it’s time to decide what to watch tonight.
It was a quick decision process as we had spotted the recent release of “Fire of love” on Disney+ and we knew about the movie thanks to its summer theatrical release (yes theatrical still matters).
In this 90-minute documentary, we follow Katya and Maurice Krafft, two French volcanologists, as they study volcanoes all over the planet and build awareness on the dangers they represent for local populations.
The documentary is narrated by Miranda July who has the perfect voice and tone to tell the beautiful love story of this couple and their passion for volcanoes. I can’t recommend it enough!
To see where the title is available in your country 👉 Justwatch
That’s it folks. I hope you found this interesting and if you did, please don’t hesitate to tell your colleagues, bosses, friends & families about it.
Enjoy your weekend and see you next Friday for another edition of Streaming Made Easy!
At night, I write Streaming Made Easy and post each working day on Linkedin.
By day, I run The Local Act, a Streaming Video Consultancy.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
If you’re looking to understand FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV), I'd recommend starting with a 4-week Discovery Program (Book a call to discuss).
Then, go further with a dedicated "How to get into FAST" Program where I fast-track the launch of your FAST Channel Business (Let’s chat some more!).
Last but not least, work with me 1:1 to grow your streaming video business in Europe (new market entries, distribution expansion etc.).