Dive summary:
- Apple TV made two big gains to its subscriber service with HBO Go and WatchESPN.
- Previously, Apple TV only offered a few dozen content source through direct apps meaning, for example, if users wanted to watch HBO they would have to stream it with an iOS device through Apple Airplay.
- The content from HBO Go and WatchESPN will only be available to certain cable subscribers; DirecTV and Charter will not be on the list.
From the article:
"Cable companies lament what has become the new paradigm of selling content directly to consumers, a business model that has made Apple grow into a media retail behemoth since the iTunes store opened in 2003. On Thursday, Apple announced that iTunes TV episode sales have passed the one billion mark. ITunes users download 350,000 movies and 800,000 TV episode purchases every day, the company said. Factoring in an average price of 99 cents per episode and $20 per movie, a Financial Times blog estimated that Apple rakes in $3-4 million per day from TV and movies."
