Suspended

I saw a TiVo headline today that caught my eye, “TiVo Ends Subscriber-Losing Streak”.  What prompted me to click on it was not because of the headline, but because I haven’t seen anything newsworthy from TiVo in a while (subs up, net revenue down–again, nothing too newsworthy).

However, all the way at the end of the page was a small paragraph that should have been the real headline:

“And here’s more speculation about that iTV that Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)’s developing. Jefferies & Co. Inc. analyst Peter Misek believes Sharp Electronics Corp. is tweaking its TV production line in Sakai, Japan, to accommodate the Apple device. He thinks the line could be ready for commercial production by Feb. 2012, setting things up for a possible mid-2012 product introduction. (See Jobs Bio Confirms Apple Television Plan .)”

There’s been much speculation about the next evolution of AppleTV, more so after the replayed quote from the Steve Job’s book, “I cracked it!”

The blurb from Light Reading Cable gives us more insight at what might be at play here–Sharp, or even other TV manufacturers–are adjusting their production line for AppleTV.  This supports the theory that the next gen AppleTV will not be a TV–contrary to what a majority of the rumor mills are spewing out.  Apple’s TV hobby will continue to be a set-top box.  Now, more importantly, Sharp is changing their TV to support AppleTV, and if this is true, then Apple’s hobby now becomes a real business.

The implication here is pretty major.  Is Sharp creating a TV to fully support and integrate AppleTV’s set-top box?  What if Sharp combines two TV inputs so that the Apple OS now runs along side with input 1 or your cable-in input?  This integrated experience could be the holy grail that the TV Everywhere evangelists are searching for–offering a device that combines and curates broadcast with broadband content.

This solution solves many problems, from Apple’s challenge with cable operators and network contractual agreements to the numerous and growing number of over-the-top services causing more and more fragmentation.

Imagine a TV where you can use a TV guide deigned by Apple to find programming or access iTunes and Netflix all seamlessly, without switching inputs on your TV.  Now, throw in a search and discovery application to find content on both broadcast and broadband, you begin to streamline the video media consumption user experience.  Layer in Siri, and the TV user experience not just evolves, it explodes…and the way people consume TV programs and over-the-top video content finally hits the sweet spot for people.

Again, this is just me speculating, but if it’s true, Apple can add TV to all the other industries they disrupted.

Read the Light Reading Cable article here: http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=214984&site=lr_cable&f_src=lrcabledailynewsletter