DirecTV CEO Scoffs At Competition From Apple TV 264
theodp writes "In a move that evokes memories of Steve Ballmer's initial pooh-poohing of the iPhone threat, DirecTV Chairman Michael White downplayed the Apple TV hype, expressing doubts that 'Apple's interface will be so much better than DirecTVs' that people will be willing to pay for an extra box. So, will White's statement — 'It's hard to see (it) obsoleting our technology' — come back to haunt him?"
"Extra box"? (Score:4, Informative)
Given all the rumours, it sounds more and more likely that Apple will be releasing an actual TV set of one sort or another. That wouldn't be an "extra box," it would just be a replacement TV.
I wonder what Mr. White would think of the chances of that sort of "Apple TV"?
Dan Aris
Re:"Extra box"? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Irony alert! (Score:5, Informative)
I use my Apple TV mainly for playing music off my main iTunes library, but I looked at the video and saw $2.99 per episode for TV shows? I have Amazon Prime streaming and see similar stuff: $1.99/episode for a 4 year old How It's Made.
Everyone is talking about the merits of different technology, but the real road block to adoption seems to be an insanely broken pricing scheme. I saw that Dish pays around 0.25/month per subscriber to Comedy Central. Yet somehow it's reasonable to ask 2 bucks for a single episode of a single show from that channel?
Re:Irony alert! (Score:5, Informative)
I tried to drop comcast TV last year and they told me it was cheaper to have internet + basic cable than internet alone. Of course it was... until 6 months later that specially discounted package ran out and my bill jumped. You have to keep an eye on it.