By Brandon Shainfeld, Director, Business Development
With rumors of Apple’s new iTV circulating at the speed of, well, the last new Apple product rumor, it is valuable to look at what Apple may offer with its connected TV platform and how it can compete with what is already out there.
More so than ever, consumers want content on demand. They want to watch content when they want to and have access to it in an easy manner without having to sift through an unorganized guide. The goal of IP delivered content should be to meet the consumer’s desires with that of the advertisers and content providers. For these three to meet somewhere in the middle, sacrifices will be made that will shape the future of how this medium looks and operates.
The outstanding question is: how will Apple differentiate themselves from their competitors? Is Apple going to be focused solely on quality or on functionality as well? I believe the latter. Apple’s iTV will likely change the way we interact with our TV sets. As opposed to a more passive experience that traditional television has been able to offer thus far, many predict that iTV will offer its users the ability to wave their hands as a means to remotely change channels and applications on the screen. It is said to use an updated version of Apple’s wireless-streaming technology “Air-Play” to allow users to control it from their iPhones and iPads--- basically like putting Siri in the hands of the user and turning your TV set into a gigantic iPad.
Of course, content is king and no matter what bells and whistles Apple launches with its new offering they will not get mass user adoption unless it launches with some exciting content partners. Apple tends to introduce its products in a big way—so I believe this will be the case. For instance, one rumor says that Apple is in talks with Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. Similarly, Verizon has partnered with Microsoft to make its FiOS TV service accessible through the new Xbox Live user interface.
It is obvious that the key players in the connected TV world foresee the value that the content providers can offer. While TV controlled by hand gestures will get the most buzz, establishing the right partnerships with the right content providers may prove to be the deciding factor in this ever evolving connected TV space.