MELBOURNE: Along with the subscription video boom, Aussie TV networks are also pushing onto more home entertainment devices.
The Apple TV set-top box is a slick streaming media player but, outside the US, few third-party video services have managed to get a foothold on the device. Last year Quickflix vowed to be the first Australian app on the Apple TV, but it’s been beaten to the punch – first by Cricket Australia and now by the Ten Network’s TENplay Catch Up service.
Earlier this month Cricket Australia launched Australia’s first Apple TV app, with match highlights, cricket news and other clips but no live streaming. There’s obviously room for this to come over time, following in the footsteps of the NBA, MLB and NHL subscription apps.
Of course it could be a while before local broadcast rights allow Australian cricket matches to be streamed live to Australians. Most Australian subscription sports services are aimed at ex-pats who want to watch from outside Australia, not at locals who want to escape the free-to-air TV and Foxtel coverage.
Meanwhile the Apple TV’s new TENplay app offers full episodes of television shows, not just clips. You’ll find a lot of Australian content but due to rights deals you won’t find popular foreign shows like Dexter, Elementary and Blue Bloods – a problem which plagues the Catch Up services from every commercial network. Hopefully there’ll come a day when Catch Up services are treated equally across all devices, but don’t hold your breath.
UPDATE: I’m wrong, those shows will be available on the Apple TV. Unlike on the TENplay website, Dexter and the other shows don’t appear at all in a seach of the Apple TV app because there are no new episodes to watch at the moment. Network Ten tells me that every show which is on the TENplay Catch Up website will also appear on the Apple TV, which is great news considering how fragmented some Catch Up services are across platforms. As Ten’s flagship programs return for 2015 the Apple TV app will become better and better.
Ten’s move onto the Apple TV is part of its “TV Everywhere” strategy, aiming to break the shackles of the idiot box and offer content on as many devices and platforms as possible. It’s a smart plan considering that watching television is becoming an increasingly fragmented experience.
Now that we can watch what we want, when we want, we’re also demanding more control over where and how we watch it. The ubiquitous nature of Netflix is only going to reinforce this in Australia. There are reportedly almost 1 million Apple TVs in Australian lounge rooms – dwarfing Google’s Chromecast sales. If I were Quickflix, Stan or Presto I’d be scrambling to get on Australian Apple TVs before Netflix, even if it means jumping through Apple’s hoops.
Digital hipsters will tell you that streaming is king and broadcast television is already dead, but they’re wrong. It will be a gradual transition and Microsoft can clearly see this with its efforts to integrate the Xbox One with traditional television.
This week Microsoft’s game console finally gained access to the Australian TV guide – likely thanks to the fact local Electronic Program Guide aggregator HWW is no longer controlled by NineMSN. Microsoft was keen to offer OneGuide to Aussies when the Xbox One first launched, but underestimated how difficult it can be to strike such deals in parochial Australia.
