News today that ESPN and Apple have reached an agreement to deliver live sports over the iOs platform products.
So now the Apple ecosystem grows once more. What this means is that the control exercised by the major networks is once again eroded to the people who interface with the customers. Eventually media will all be streamed through devices that are controlled by iOs, android or windows interfaces. What does this mean for TV producers? Find a partner in one of those three is my answer.
Say Samsung gets together with Google to create devices that Samsung sells through its vast retailer network which incorporate Android smarts. Say LP partners with Microsoft to incorporate windows abilities into their devices partnering directly with content providers. What this all shows is the move of power towards those that control the direct interface with the customer. The hardware guys only advantage is the retail distribution they have. Apple is at once a hardware and interface provider, thus giving them an edge, they never are the ones who want to be the cheapest, so they are content making oodles of money with a small percentage market share, while the mammoth electronics makers require mammoth market share and could partner with either Google or Microsoft for the lion’s share of the market, although perhaps not as “upmarket” an experience as Apple will give its clients.
Interesting times of convergence I dare say…I wonder how this type of ecosystem approach could impact on a solar power company? Hmmm….