New Apple connected TV could breathe new life into ‘moribund’ market

Joseph O'Halloran ©RapidTVNews | 15-11-2011

Despite the fact that Apple TV has stubbornly failed to take off a new research document is claiming that its rumoured connected TV could provide an opportunity to develop a lucrative new business model.
The IHS iSuppli Home & Consumer Electronics research suggests that by offering a complete television solution that seamlessly integrates display, user interface and, most importantly in its opinion, content, Apple could cash in despite the weak market conditions of the TV market.

Admitting that it is in the dark as much as everyone else about the so-called Apple connected TV, IHS speculates that Apple could achieve success by offering a complete television solution, attributable partly to the fact that such a product would be simple to utilise and work out of the box. Yet from a business perspective, IHS also suggests that any such product would likely allow Apple to integrate access to pay-TV right into the device itself and tap into the expanding market for subscription revenue thus differentiating Apple’s offering from the plethora of rivals.
One way IHS believes that Apple could achieve this objective would be to expand its iTunes services or by partnering with presumably very willing pay-TV providers to deliver programming via cable, satellite or other means. Indeed the analyst asserts that such a modus operandi could be critical to the success of the Apple connected TV and could serve to reshape the television business.
“Apple has the opportunity to do for television what has done for PCs and tablets—offering something that’s easy to use, works right out of the box and that delivers a compelling user interface that’s unparalleled in the industry,” said Randy Lawson, principal analyst, display and consumer electronics at IHS.
“But even more important than that, Apple is really the only company that can pull off partnerships with operators, allowing it to offer a television set that’s completely ready to watch when a consumer buys it, requiring no additional hardware like a set-top box, or a subscription for service from a third party.”