Around the Net
Moonves: CBS Shot Down Ad-Based Apple TV Offer
- GigaOm, Friday, November 4, 2011 2:20 PM
On CBS’s third quarter earnings call this week, CEO Les Moonves said the company had decided against joining an Apple TV service because it was based on an ad split, GigaOm reports.
Apple was long rumored to be working on a subscription streaming service that would aggregate content from multiple TV networks and compete against more traditional cable and satellite services. But, as GigaOm notes, the product never made it to market, as Apple was apparently unable to convince enough content providers to join.
“The decision not to join the effort follows CBS’s philosophy of getting paid upfront licensing fees for syndication of its content online, as opposed to partnering on revenue-sharing agreements,” according to GigaOm. “It’s one reason, for instance, why CBS never followed ABC, Fox and NBC in joining Hulu, and why it seems unlikely to do so in the future.”
The strategy seems to be working. Indeed, CBS and The CW recently announced lucrative licensing deals with streaming providers, including Hulu and Amazon.
