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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is ready to launch a service that will allow iTunes users to stream TV shows and movies that they've purchased, according to a report Thursday in AppAdvice.
The service, which is referred to internally at Apple as "iTunes Replay," will let users re-download TV shows and movies that they already own, as well as stream them to the company's set-top offering, Apple TV, according to the report.
Apparently not all iTunes content will be included in the program. The report stated that shows and movies that are part of the offering will be labeled as "iTunes Replay eligible."
Apple did not respond to a phone call and email by MacNewsWorld for comment on the report.
End of PC-Centricity?
If the rumor is true, it would make things more convenient for consumers, observed Gartner (NYSE: IT) analyst Michael Gartenberg. "It would also further emphasize how Apple has shifted the consumer hub for digital media away from the PC," he told MacNewsWorld.
To some extent, Apple is already streaming video, he continued. "If I have Apple TV, I can access TV shows that I've purchased without having them on my computer. They're in the cloud.
"If these stories are true, it would be an extension of what Apple has already done and what they're talking about doing with iCloud in the future," he asserted. "The whole idea is to make the cloud the central portal for consumer content, not the PC.
"They're moving away from 'download once into your PC,' and you can't ever get at it again," he added.
Savvy About Consumer Desires
The fact that Apple wants to stream stuff from the iCloud shouldn't surprise anyone, maintained Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst with the Enderle Group in San Jose, Calif. The two things slowing down Apple's progress on that front have been getting the iCloud up and running and obtaining streaming rights for its content, he added.
"There's no doubt that they'll be providing a streaming service at some point," he told MacNewsWorld.
Given Apple's success in giving consumers what they want, it makes sense for the company to offer a service like iTunes Replay, reasoned Ross Rubin, an analyst with the NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y. "Part of the company's success in digital music was delivering the media the way the consumers wanted it," he told MacNewsWorld.
With video, consumers have shown through delivery systems like cable and satellite TV, and Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Hulu, that they like the subscription model, he continued. Moreover, the potential for streaming video is broadened as consumers move away from the TV and toward mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, he added.
Challenging Netflix?
While on its face, a service like iTunes Replay appears to be a mere extension of Apple's media ecosystem, that may not be the case should a final product appear, Rubin noted. "A lot could vary in the implementation," he said. "It is difficult to say how similar it might be to existing streaming subscription services."
Should services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) be worried by Replay competing with their market shares? Opinion appears to be mixed. "Apple's model is entirely different from something like Netflix," Gartenberg contended. "There's nothing in this that would make them a Nexflix competitor."
Enderle, though, doesn't agree. "Apple wants to monetize everything that goes through their devices," he argued, "so on their devices they're absolutely going to be competing with those folks."
"Apple is aggressive about making sure they control the user experience, and that's what they're going to do here as well," he added.
