Apple is looking to give viewers what they want most out of TV --fewer commercials, and they're looking to add what they've been missing from Apple TV-- live television. According to Business Insider on July 15, those two concepts are coming together to create a commercial skipping plan for live TV on the Apple TV.
A report from former Wall Street Journal tech reporter Jessica Lessin points out that Apple would allow viewers to skip through commercials during live TV watching and would then provide compensation to media companies for the skipped ads. This service would also be considered a premium feature on the Apple TV, so consumers would be presumably be paying a decent sum to offset commercial-skipping costs.
According to Business Insider, the price Apple would end up paying to the media companies could definitely add up."...eMarketer projects U.S. TV ad spending will be $66.35 billion this year. If Apple were to compensate for lost ad revenue, it could get pretty expensive pretty quickly. "
And VentureBeat notes that despite the report saying Apple is in serious talks with media companies, history might prove otherwise. Several major media companies are already suing Dish Network over the Hopper DVR feature that auto-skips commercials. It seems like a pretty bold move to pitch a nearly identical idea and think that they could get away with it, but that’s Apple for you.
In terms of innovation, Apple has remained fairly quiet about what their future holds, though reports have been switching between them pursuing a full-feature TV or wearable tech, like the “iWatch”. This report seems to indicate where they are headed.
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/apple-inc-looking-to-cut-out-commericals-add-live-tv-for-apple-tv?cid=roadrunner