Apple TV
The move to Internet TV, by the numbers
May 3, 2013: 6:36 AM ETHouseholds with broadband Internet access are increasingly piping Internet video to their TV sets, through a variety of devices.
FORTUNE -- We can examine the strategies of Netflix (NFLX) and Comcast (CMCSA) all we like, but the speed at which television moves off of cable and onto the Internet will be determined largely by what people decide to do in their living rooms. Now that they have the hardware and software tools to access TV online -- and, of course, lots of videos to watch -- all eyes are on home viewers.
More than half of them -- 56% of all households with broadband Internet access -- now have at least one TV set connected to the Internet, according to a report from Diffusion Group, "Defining the In-Home CE and Network Ecosystem 2013." About two-thirds of the nation's homes have broadband.
While viewers use a variety of means to get Internet video from Netflix and other services onto their TV screens, it appears that smart TVs are increasingly in favor, though most people are still porting video content through game consoles like the Xbox 360 (MSFT), the Sony PS3 (SNE), and the Nintendo Wii (NTDOY). About 62% of households own such a device, which are used about a quarter of the time for TV viewing, on average.
MORE: Google Glass is amazing. Now fix it
But smart TVs are coming on strong, growing faster than dedicated Internet-to-TV devices like Roku or Apple TV (AAPL). About 14% of broadband households own a dedicated device, while about 25% own a smart TV. Ownership of smart TVs has doubled over the past year, while ownership of dedicated devices grew by only two percentage points. But only about two-thirds of smart TVs are actually connected to the Internet, according to the report.
Another report, this one from NPD Group, found that by next year, all of these means of connecting the Internet to TVs will eclipse connections via Blu-ray players. For now, more people are connected through Blu-rays than through smart TVs, but that's swiftly changing -- another sign of people moving away from movies on discs. The NPD Group report, "Connected Home," also found that 40% of households with Internet-connected TVs watch videos from Netflix, 17% watch YouTube (GOOG) videos, and 11% watch movies and TV shows via Hulu.
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Don't expect to find Macs, iPhones or iPads at Staples
The tweets that launched a score of news stories may have been premature
FORTUNE -- The Street's Rocco Pendola was tearing his shoulder-length locks Wednesday morning in a piece titled I'm Worried About Apple. Again. And You Should Be, Too. The thrust of his story: Tim Cook is diluting the precious Apple (AAPL) brand by allowing its products to be sold by retailers associated with, in his word, "mediocrity."
Pendola mentions BestBuy (BBY), MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 20, 2013 11:41 AM ET -
What Apple CEO Tim Cook didn't say
Apple's CEO Tim Cook didn't bring up the company's most talked-about rumors. And that may be very telling.
FORTUNE -- Listening to a Tim Cook interview is like watching an old episode of Seinfeld. Nothing really happens, so the trick is to interpret the nothingness.
For example, Cook said nothing in his appearance Tuesday morning at a Goldman Sachs (GS) conference in San Francisco about whether or not Apple (AAPL) will produce MORE
Adam Lashinsky, Sr. Editor at Large - Feb 12, 2013 1:48 PM ET -
What's Apple's next big thing?
A low-cost iPhone? An Apple TV set? Four experts tackled the issue at Macworld 2013
FORTUNE -- Does Apple (AAPL) have another game-changing product up its sleeve? That's the question all Wall Street is asking. At a Macworld/iWorld panel Friday, four Macworld writers and editors addressed the issue, focusing on two possibilities: An iPhone cheap enough to sell in large quantities to the developing world, and the long-rumored Apple-branded TV set.
We captured MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 1, 2013 4:06 PM ET -
Anything new in the Wall St. Journal's Apple TV story?
Once again, the Journal has stoked the fires of Apple TV set speculation
FORTUNE -- It's almost exactly a year since the Wall Street Journal sent shivers of anticipatory glee through the Apple (AAPL) investment community with a report on the company's "assault" on the TV business.
That story, based on leaks from media executives who had asked Apple to brief them on its plans, suggested that Cupertino was pursuing two paths: MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 12, 2012 7:51 AM ET -
Live on Apple TV: Today's iPad mini event
For serious Apple watchers, this may be the best reason yet to buy its $99 set-top box
FORTUNE -- Boy am I glad I didn't spring for airfare and a hotel to cover today's Apple (AAPL) special event in San Jose, Calif.
I had planned to monitor the thing second-hand through any of more than a dozen live blogs.
But now, thanks to a new "Apple Events" channel the company just added to its MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Oct 23, 2012 8:08 AM ET -
Bloomberg slams the brakes on the Apple TV rumor train
No new TV product this year -- not even a set-top box -- says its source
FORTUNE -- Apple (AAPL) analysts who had been counting on a new revenue stream in 2012 from sales of an Apple-branded TV set -- and believe it or not, there were some -- have two reasons to take another look at their spreadsheets.
1. Bloomberg on Thursday joined the Wall Street Journal in reporting that Apple's talks with MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Sep 6, 2012 7:40 AM ET -
Two analysts diverge on when (and if) Apple will build a TV set
One says Apple's iTV is already in production. Another says it won't arrive before 2014
FORTUNE -- Jefferies' Peter Misek is full of confident predictions in a note to clients issued Friday. Based on his supply chain checks and sales data out of Taiwan, he believes:
iPad builds for Apple's (AAPL) September quarter have been increased to 25 million from 18 million and to 30 million from 22-25 million for December.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 17, 2012 11:55 AM ET
That the MORE -
Apple and the stupid cable box
A filmmaker makes a strong case that the cable guys will never strike a deal with Cupertino
FORTUNE -- Of the 53 responses posted before noon Wednesday to the Wall Street Journal's latest piece about Apple's negotiations with the cable TV operators -- including TechCrunch's "Everyone has known this for months" -- the most nuanced may have been Victor Agreda, Jr.'s Apple's toughest nut yet at TUAW.
"The cable industry is still MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 16, 2012 12:07 PM ET -
What changed to finally bring Hulu Plus to Apple TV?
The likely hold-up: Apple's 30% cut. The breakthrough: AirPlay on the Mac
FORTUNE -- Like many Hulu Plus subscribers who use the $7.99-per-month service to catch up on TV shows they've missed, I have no shortage of ways to get it. It's on Roku, PS3, XBox and the Wii. There's a Hulu app for the iPad, the Mac, Linux and Microsoft (MSFT) Windows. It even came pre-loaded on my Internet-ready Panasonic MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jul 31, 2012 12:33 PM ET
