Posted on 12/03/2005 10:09:01 PM PST by Panerai
American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu has said his proprietary checks with industry sources indicate that iTunes video sales from music videos, ABC TV shows, and Pixar short films continue to come in ahead of expectations. Apple is also reportedly planning a major update to its video services that includes possible new partners, set to launch as early as January. Wu said "Apple disclosed that it sold one million videos on October 31st, 2005. We are picking up indications that sales have more than doubled since then and that this strength is attracting attention from other content providers including NBC, CBS, and Fox eager to participate in this new market opportunity." The analyst said he would not be surprised to see Apple announce new content partners over the next few quarters, even as early as Apple's CEO Steve Jobs' keynote at Macworld Expo during the second week of January.
Rumors have begun to spread that Apple is preparing to add a host of new video content to its service as early next year. Rumors that Apple is working on a broadband video service have been re-ignited as well, and appear to coincide with similar reports that surfaced following Apple's hiring of Julia Miller in March, according to a report from AppleInsider.
Miller, who was responsible for the worldwide marketing and sales programs for Microsoft's Xbox Live--a subscription-based online gaming service--, accepted a position at Apple that included the exploration of a video subscription service, either for a portable video player or a desktop device, according to the report.
I'm listening to music downloaded from i-tunes today. I love the sight, even a novice like me can learn to used it.
It's great.
I think it will level off. Music videos are just... weak.
It may do well as video device, eventually, but it will take a lot more memory and battery-life to make it record, store HD and feature-lenth programs, etc.
I now longer buy CDs, watch broadcast television (except for breaking news and sports) or read newspapers. I use the internet and my iPod. My iPod is not just for music anymore for for podcasts, audiobooks and now video content.
For the moment, internet/iPod is an alternative distribution outlet. Be wary though - the printing press was once a 'new media' too, trumpeted as a liberating force which ended the rule of Popes and kings... Didn't take long for it to become a primary tool of old-establishment monopoly and propaganda.
The low cost makes getting media out accessible to basically anyone. You're not going to see another Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Walter Cronkite, or the Beatles, because there are so many distribution outlets now. Part of their success was that there were so few outlets, one person could dominate the spectrum. That's no longer possible.
If you look at the complaints of the old media, it's primarily that they are no longer the information gatekeepers. There's a conceit among editors, publishers and producers. They believe they should be able to filter the news for "the public good." Even ten years ago, the Dan Rather/Mary Mapes fabrication would have worked. Cindy Sheehan could have been protected from scrutiny by the old stream media, as Cronkite protected the "Vietnam Veterans Against the War." Those days are over, but we do have to protect the freedom to publish in the new media. Keep the internet away from the UN, and keep the Democrats from pushing a "fairness doctrine."
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