Resident iTV advocate Gene Munster, a well-known Apple analyst for Piper Jaffray, has stepped up to the mic again with news that he spoke to a
“major TV component supplier” regarding Apple. It would seem that Apple was speaking to this source and inquiring about the “various capabilities of their television display components.”
Those quotes may be horoscope-quality vague and all-encompassing, but Munster did follow them up with his own predictions on 3 possible content scenarios Apple may employ with the iTV still rumored for a late-2012 launch (just in time for the holiday season, perhaps?).
The first option is what Munster describes as “the simplest scenario.” Under this configuration the iTV would be more of a management console than a service on its own. Described as being much like TiVo, this option would allow for a single user interface that could control a user’s current television service while supplementing movie rental and other services from iTunes as desired.
The second option would be a “Live TV + Web combo.” While delivering live TV via network channels iTV could also supplement viewing pleasures with the services offered by content providers like Netflix and Hulu Plus.
The third and final option presented by Munster has Apple providing consumers with an “iTunes television subscription.” Although this would be the most sophisticated (and in turn most unlikely) option given the requirement for licensing arrangements with networks and other content providers, it would also be my personal preference. I enjoy the idea of a-la-carte pricing for live TV packages as well as having a single provider instead of fees paid to a variety.
9to5Mac did point out one key hurdle to these iTV service options that I hadn’t considered: Internet data caps and bandwidth throttling. For those of you not lucky enough to be subscribed to unlimited Internet plans, this may be an additional expense to consider.
Apple touts the beauty of their current Apple TV by saying “Now there’s always something good on TV.” Each of these possible content solutions makes this statement even more of a reality.
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