Apple Web Television Service Would Awaken A Sleeping Apple TV Giant

More Rain For Cloud Business Intelligence As Birst Raises $65MApple is set to launch a dedicated streaming TV service beginning in September, according to the Wall Street Journal. The offering would boast around 25 channels, including major broadcasters like ABC, CBS and Fox and would likely be priced around $30 or $40 a month, with an initial unveil in June (most likely at WWDC).
This follows an announcement from Apple at last week’s event that it would be the exclusive first digital TV partner for HBO Now, which is the cable network’s dedicated streaming service that is coming in April to Apple TV and iOS devices for $15 per month. The new service would offer more of a package similar to what Sling TV, the over-the-top offering from Dish, provides in its $20 micro bundle for streamers.
Apple is also talking to companies like Walt Disney and Fox, but the WSJ says it won’t include content from NBCUniversal because of a spat between Apple and NBC parent Comcast Corp. So long as the company can muster a good crop of the kind of popular specialty channels that typically trigger expensive bundle sales in traditional cable and satellite packages, though, that omission probably won’t be all that troubling to potential buyers – especially given that NBC is still available free OTA in most markets.
If Apple does indeed launch this service as planned, it’s hard to understate the potential value it can drive across its lineup of hardware offerings. The service would work with iPhone and iPad, as well as with Apple TV, but the Apple TV is where it could move the needle most.
Given this report, it seems very likely that Apple’s announcements at its Spring Forward event last week were intended to set up a scenario in which the Apple TV hardware becomes a gateway device for users new to its product line, as well as something that will greatly increase its appeal to existing owners and established Apple fans alike.
The price cut to $69 combined with the HBO Now access is already probably a powerful enough incentive to spike sales, but an online TV offering that greatly undercuts your typical bundle and offers more premium content at the same time has the potential to really explode Apple TV sales. Rumors about such an offering on Apple’s set-top box have existed since it was first introduced, and all the work Apple has done to make it a compelling independent offering arguably still pales in comparison to what it can accomplish by just throwing in some more traditional live channels.
Apple TV is currently viewed as a supplement, not a replacement, to existing TV service for most users, and that might be its greatest limiting factor. If the company does really launch a streaming TV service this fall, expect TV hardware to be viewed in a new light, by both Apple and consumers alike.

By: Unknown On 12:54

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Zuck Says “Sure”, Facebook Would Love To Work With Google On Global Internet Access

Zuck Says “Sure”, Facebook Would Love To Work With Google On Global Internet Access | Cloze Debuts A Smart, Personal Assistant App For Managing Your Professional Relationships
Connecting the world doesn’t have to be a cutthroat competition, Mark Zuckerberg signalled on stage at Mobile World Congress earlier today
When asked if Facebook’s Internet.org access initiative would consider working with Google’s Project Loon, he said “Sure. When we launched the Internet.org app in Zambia with our operator partner there…one of the apps we launched with was Google Search, because search is an important product and piece of functionality people around the world want. I would love to do more with them, and Sundar (Pichai, Google SVP) talked about their apps being more in partnership with Internet.org.”

However, Zuckerberg did throw a little shade at Google’s efforts to extend network connections to people in remote areas through hot air balloons. He noted “90% of people in the world already live in range of a network. While it’s kind of sexy to talk about satellites [lasers, and other high-tech ways to distribute an Internet connection], the real work happens here”, referring to Mobile World Congress itself.
What he meant was that the barriers to access are really the cost of data plans and lack of education about why the Internet is important. Zuckerberg said it’s Internet.org’s mobile operator partners that are making the real investments and bets on behalf of access. They build the network infrastructure like towers and are trying zero-rating plans for free access to limited parts of the web.
The Internet.org app is now available to 500 million people in six countries. Facebook says 7 million people used mobile data for the first time thanks to its partnerships. Operators increased their rate of acquisition of new customers by 40% after supporting Internet.org’s app.
In conclusion, Zuckerberg reiterated what he’s said since Internet.org launched its effort to connect the rest of the world. Internet accessibility is a social good mission for Facebook, but it must be a sustainable business for mobile carriers. If giving away access doesn’t eventually lead to more data plan sales, carriers won’t be able to support democratization of the knowledge economy.
Essentially, through zero-rated apps like Internet.org, citizens of a country can get free data access to a limited set of “basic Internet services” that include Facebook, Facebook Messenger, health tips, civic participation instructions, human rights information, and sometimes third-party services like Google Search and Wikipedia.
But to access any other part of the web, free users hit a roadblock where they’re asked to buy a data plan. The question is whether operators are actually scoring new customers in exchange for subsidizing access for those who can’t afford it.
Luckily, Mobile World Congress then had several operator executives come out to discuss the business success of giving away access. Operator Tigo’s CEO Christian Ruiz Diaz said that in Paraguay, his company has seen a 30% increase in paying customers in the few months since Tigo began supporting the free Internet.org app. Facebook also says Tigo saw a 50% increase in data users in Colombia and a 10X increase in monthly smartphone sales in Tanzania since launching the Internet.org app.
Zuckerberg proudly noted that “The overwhelming feedback we’re hearing from our partners is that it works. It grows the Internet and grows their business. Those are the two things we set out to work with partners to do and we’re really excited.”
Of course, long-term, helping people get on the Internet has business potential for Facebook and Google too. By facilitating access, these platforms endear themselves to web rookies who might even mistake their multi-featured services for the Internet itself. Forging this relationship could pay dividends down the line if previously unconnected people become loyal Facebook or Google users.
Monetizing in the developing world is tough because buying power is low, and currencies aren’t equivalent. But tech’s giants will probably be able to make money eventually if they can be the first step people take to getting online.

By: Unknown On 00:35

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If Y Combinator Did A Growth Fund, It Would Be Very, Very Late-Stage

YC-Backed Kickback Offers An Easy Way To Play Minecraft CompetitivelyFor years, Y Combinator has shied away from doing any kind of follow-on funding. That’s out of concern that this would signal risk and ward VCs away from supporting startups that don’t get this seal of approval.
However, under the firm’s new leadership with Sam Altman at the helm, it’s possible that Y Combinator will consider doing growth-stage investments, according to sources familiar with the firm’s plans. Both YC and Altman declined to comment on this story.
First off, the plans are very much “in flux,” a source tells us. The firm has discussed the possibility of growth-stage funding with external parties, but this is not at all finalized.
Second, it would definitely not involve any kind of Series A or B investments because of the signaling risk problem (e.g. companies that don’t get follow-on funding would have a much harder time raising funds from other investors).
A potential Y Combinator growth-stage fund would be much farther down the line, akin to Series E funding or growth capital that a company might need before going public. Think about it as being competitive with the kinds of firms that might invest in Airbnb at north of the $10 billion valuation.
If they were going to do it, they would think about how they could reinvent the category above and beyond offering commodity capital before an IPO. For instance, companies at this stage have this dual need to raise huge amounts of money to fuel growth and to provide liquidity to early employees. Y Combinator also, of course, has a huge talent network in its alumni pool.
Such a move would be consistent with overall trends in the venture world, which have produced a barbell-like effect favoring very early and very late-stage activity. The cost to build a minimum viable product and then distribute it to a potential audience of more than a billion consumers online or on mobile devices has dropped drastically over the past decade. That’s favored the emergence of founder-friendly firms like Y Combinator, the evolution of superangel funds, and then syndicates and individuals on platforms like AngelList.
At the same time, low interest rates have fueled a hunt for returns in the late-stage end of the market where firms like Coatue, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price have aggressively sought to put money into companies like Uber, Airbnb and Snapchat. That has driven the valuations of these companies into the billions of dollars. A Wall Street Journal report found 75 companies worth at least $1 billion, including Y Combinator alums like Stripe, Dropbox, Airbnb and Instacart.
With more YC alums on their way toward joining this club, it’s no wonder why the firm is considering getting a piece of the action.

By: Unknown On 21:05

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