Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Why I'm Glad Apple Inc. Killed Its Smart TV Plans

There's simply no reason for Apple to jump into the crowded low-margin battlefield of smart TVs when it can sell its hardware at gross margins exceeding 40%. Steve Jobs reportedly once told employees, "TV is a terrible business. They don't turn over and the margins suck."

Perhaps Icahn will argue that Apple's brand appeal could convince people to buy $1,500 4K TVs. But in my opinion, TVs don't belong in the same category as smartphones or tablets. Plunging prices across the market indicate that customers favor big screens with low price tags, and the upgrade cycle for TVs is much longer than the one for smartphones and tablets.

In addition, Apple already has a decent foothold in the connected TV market with Apple TV, which accounted for 17% of all streaming media devices in the U.S. last year, according to Parks Associates. That makes it a decent platform for delivering iTunes, its upcoming streaming TV service, and other digital content to customers.

From the article "Why I'm Glad Apple Inc. Killed Its Smart TV Plans" by Leo Sun.

Previously In The News

Dongle Bells: The Holiday Stream Of Streaming Devices

If predictions from Parks Associates are correct, this should be a good season for connected devices like Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Roku. That's mainly because they’re cheap and small and, if...

Boom In OTT Devices May Be Big Boost To Small Providers Like Popcornflix

According to other, new data from Parks Associates, about one in 10 broadband homes bought streaming device so far this year. Then there’s this stunning assertion from Barbara Kraus, director of re...

25% Of Under-34 Viewers Think Online Is Better Than Pay TV

A new report from Parks Associates caught my attention for this one blunt fact/assertion: The “OTT Playbook: Success Factors for Video Services” contends that 25% of consumers under the age of 34 b...

More Connected Devices Driving Desire For Tech Support

More connected home devices means greater opportunities for consumers to have issues with them, and thus, more opportunity to help fix them. According to research from Parks Associates, more th...