Bad timing? Apple insists it's the future of TV
Technically Incorrect: As suggestions emerge that Apple TV may not have an a la carte streaming service for a while, it releases a new ad with very big claims about its TV service.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
Apple TV. Still not in the penthouse suite of television.
Proclaiming you are the future is fraught with difficulties.
Just ask Kanye West. He insists that he's the next Steve Jobs, but I could never quite see the Apple co-founder with Kim Kardashian.
Still, many large egos and brands claim they're the future. Apple itself, for instance. On Tuesday, it released an ad for Apple TV that declared it was "The Future Of Television."
I always thought the future of television was NBA games being played on the inside of my eyeballs. In this ad, Apple repeats its mantra that the future of television is apps.
We see everything from iTunes to Netflix to games to Siri showing you the way to all of them. It's all charming, without inciting an urgent need to buy. It is, indeed, an expansion of a campaign that began in November with shorter ads.
The timing, though, is a touch unfortunate. On Tuesday, CBS CEO Les Moonves suggested that Apple's idea of a streaming, a la carte TV service has been put on hold. (Disclosure: CBS is CNET's parent company.)
It could be, then, that Apple's idea of progress has ground to a halt. The Cupertino, California-based company did not respond to a request for comment.
I fear that negotiating with TV companies is a lot harder than in the heady days of charming, say, record labels. TV companies can be very good at understanding the value of things they own.
Who would be surprised if the reason Apple wasn't hurtling into the future was that it suddenly doesn't have visions of countless dollars coming its way?
The future is yet to be televised. By Apple, at least.