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CE Oh no he didn't!: Time Warner chief likens Netflix threat to Albanian army
Think the relationship between Netflix and cable and content executives is amicable? Not. Even. Close. Certainly not after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings blazed a trail into the living room on the strength of the company's streaming television and movie content originally made possible by a shrewd 2008 deal with Starz. A move that netted streaming access rights to Sony and Disney content for an estimated $25 million -- next to nothing compared to the traditional licensing fees charged to cable operators. That deal is set to expire in 2011 and could cost Netflix as much as $250 million a year to renew. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes thinks that Netflix's days at the top are numbered having been made possible by an era of experimentation that's now ending. "It's a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world?" said Bewkes, "I don't think so." According to the New York Times, the comments were made last week as UBS sponsored a media conference in New York that it says turned into a "platform for executives to express their grievances and emphasize that they will now aggressively try to tilt the economic balance between Netflix and content creators back toward the media conglomerates." Wow. Don't worry though Netflix subscribers, we're sure that the implied collusion is the good kind.
Random House leery of iPad over pricing concerns
We've heard that Apple is still trying to hammer down multimedia content, but print may not be in the bag just yet. Random House is apparently applying some last minute pressure to Apple, since the company says that it's not quite sure about how pricing will work on the iPad. Apple's offer is that it will take its 30% of profit in that 70/30 "agency" split, but Random House is waffling and claiming that they need to think about it before anything gets signed. If you ask me, it sounds like they're just pushing for a little more control while they still can. iBookstore pricing all seems pretty solid, and most of Random House's competitors have already signed on. This means that, if Random House does pass on Apple's deal, not only will they not be selling books, they'll also be left in the lurch when the iPad does take off. Right now, before the iPad's actual earnings become anything but hypothetical, Random House can pose all it wants. However, I'm pretty sure that after April 3rd, Apple will have most of the cards in terms of making content deals on the iPad.
Sony cuts price of Reader Pocket Edition, tries to duck iPad
Even amateur prognosticators could have seen this one coming on the day that the iPad was announced. With Apple's hardware being so pretty and so full of excellent features, the only way any e-reader competitors could ever hope to beat them was with price. That's exactly what Sony is doing with their own Reader Pocket Edition, dropping it down to just $169 from $200. Of course, since the iPad is $499 (and competitors, like the Kindle and the Nook, are in between Sony's e-reader and Apple's tablet), there is a little more room for them to play with. However, someone's got to take the low road, and it looks like Sony is going to try. There is one more weakness that might possibly arise on Apple's side, and that is selection. Apple is rumored to be scrambling for content deals, while Amazon is trying to make sure that their Kindle program sits front and center everywhere it can. If Apple can't lock down content the way it wants to, Amazon and Barnes and Noble may still have a chance to secure an audience. That, combined with their lower price and more focused nature as an e-reader, could allow them to portion off some of the market. It's going to be a tough road ahead for anyone trying to compete directly with the iPad, though. Pre-orders have already been big, and as the devices make their way into the real world, sales will likely get even bigger.
WSJ: Apple still 'racing' to complete iPad content deals before launch
The iPad launch may finally be right around the corner, but it looks like Apple might still have some considerable work cut out for itself before the big day. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is still negotiating with various media companies in an effort to drop the price on TV shows offered on the device, and it's even reportedly put some potential deals with newspaper, magazine and textbook publishers on the backburner as it focuses on other content. That word comes from the usual, unnamed "people with the matter," who go on to say that it's proven to be difficult to convince potential content partners of the advantages of working with Apple on the iPad versus the possible threats to their current sources of revenue. It's hardly all bad news for the magical device though, as some other people familiar with the matter say that Apple has already sold "hundreds of thousands" of iPads. For its part, Apple is naturally staying mum on both counts.
