ESPN subscribers with AppleTV would gain access to the network’s Internet service on their TV sets. [Sean] Bratches, the network’s executive vice president of affiliate and advertising sales, spoke in an interview today.
The brief report doesn't specify exactly how access to the WatchESPN functionality on the Apple TV would work, but currently customers of a number of cable and Internet companies have varying levels of access to the app's content on iOS and other platforms, which includes nearly all of ESPN's live broadcasts including online-only ESPN3 content.
Currently, cable subscribers through Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon FiOS, and Bright House have full access to WatchESPN content, while subscribers on a host of other Internet services can receive access to the ESPN3 content through the app.
WatchESPN being sent to Apple TV via AirPlay
iOS device users who are eligible to access WatchESPN content can currently send the content to an Apple TV via AirPlay, but including the app directly on the Apple TV would streamline that process.
Update: Bloomberg has expanded its article with additional comments from Bratches:
“We’re a platform-agnostic content company,” Bratches, the network’s executive vice president of affiliate and advertising sales, said today in an interview. “To the extent that in the future there’s an opportunity with Apple to authenticate through the pay-TV food chain as we’re doing with Microsoft, that’s something that we will participate in.”
Update 2: Bloomberg has updated its article once again, citing comments from an ESPN spokesperson backtracking from Bratches' statements by noting that there are no active talks with Apple underway.
No deal is imminent with Apple, said Amy Phillips, a spokeswoman for Bristol, Connecticut-based ESPN.
“We’re not having conversations with Apple about authenticating WatchESPN,” Phillips said.
I never understand this... why would anyone who has an iPhone use the aluminum remote? The remote app is a great experience, even better on iPad.
Aluminum remote: [list=1]Press desired button.
iPhone as remote: [list=1]Press Sleep/Wake or Home button. * Slide to unlock. * Enter passcode, if required. * Press Home button, if another app is currently running. * Flip to correct home screen, if required, to locate Remote app. * Launch Remote app. * Wait for app to locate AppleTV over Wi-Fi network. * Press desired button or perform required function.
iPhone as remote:
[list=1]Press Sleep/Wake or Home button.
* Slide to unlock.
* Enter passcode, if required.
* Press Home button, if another app is currently running.
* Flip to correct home screen, if required, to locate Remote app.
* Launch Remote app.
* Wait for app to locate AppleTV over Wi-Fi network.
* Press desired button or perform required function.
This is why I almost exclusively use the supplied apple tv remote vs. the remote app. Only time I use the remote app is to browse my local library while something else is playing on the apple tv. Speaking of that, I would LOVE if i could browse on the apple tv while something is playing (music aside which will play in the background).
[U][/U]How many watched the Paul McCartney concert streamed on iTunes and completely missed it??
THAT was the future of television Jobs was speaking about.
(Arificially) scarce availability of content is what the industry (most especially Disney) is after. No you can't buy that movie. It was available for sale for a limited time and you missed it.
Stupid as it seems to consumers, who've already moved light years beyond that nonsense, it's a compromise, like DRM on music. One step at a time, people. We have to get them into the game before they can see the rules have changed, stop fearing it and get on board with it.
On the other hand, inside word is that Hollywood is ALL about streaming at the moment. And don't think they'll let anyone, not even iTunes get between the distributors and their customers. So, there's that to contend with.
Every studio will want its own proprietary streaming format, that they alone totally control. It will be even worse than we have now, because that's they way they like it.
So let's get behind even the dumbest iTunes moves, because the alternative is bedlam. And who needs that when all they want to do is watch a movie?
No, I don't want a Warner Bros app or a Universal app, or a Sony app, or a Paramount app, or a …
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro.
Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April.
iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by Juli Clover
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today.
Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa.
Voice...
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007.
The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by Juli Clover
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968.
There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
Google today began allowing users to sign up to use Bard, its AI-powered chatbot that rivals Microsoft's Bing chatbot. First announced back in February, Bard is an experimental conversational AI service for Google Search.
Those interested in Bard can join Google's waitlist to get access, and some users have reported getting invitation emails just hours after signing up. There are a long list ...
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
Apple on January 23 released iOS 16.3, delivering support for Security Keys for Apple IDs, changes to Emergency SOS functionality, support for the second-generation HomePod, and more.
Bloomberg briefly reports that Apple and Disney are in talks to bring sports network ESPN's WatchESPN application [App Store] to the Apple TV set-top box.
Top Rated Comments
[list=1]Press desired button.
iPhone as remote:
[list=1]Press Sleep/Wake or Home button.
* Slide to unlock.
* Enter passcode, if required.
* Press Home button, if another app is currently running.
* Flip to correct home screen, if required, to locate Remote app.
* Launch Remote app.
* Wait for app to locate AppleTV over Wi-Fi network.
* Press desired button or perform required function.
This is why I almost exclusively use the supplied apple tv remote vs. the remote app. Only time I use the remote app is to browse my local library while something else is playing on the apple tv. Speaking of that, I would LOVE if i could browse on the apple tv while something is playing (music aside which will play in the background).
Ah, yes, because when I think of the part of TV most likely to be free, "sports" is what comes to mind first.
THAT was the future of television Jobs was speaking about.
(Arificially) scarce availability of content is what the industry (most especially Disney) is after. No you can't buy that movie. It was available for sale for a limited time and you missed it.
Stupid as it seems to consumers, who've already moved light years beyond that nonsense, it's a compromise, like DRM on music. One step at a time, people. We have to get them into the game before they can see the rules have changed, stop fearing it and get on board with it.
On the other hand, inside word is that Hollywood is ALL about streaming at the moment. And don't think they'll let anyone, not even iTunes get between the distributors and their customers. So, there's that to contend with.
Every studio will want its own proprietary streaming format, that they alone totally control. It will be even worse than we have now, because that's they way they like it.
So let's get behind even the dumbest iTunes moves, because the alternative is bedlam. And who needs that when all they want to do is watch a movie?
No, I don't want a Warner Bros app or a Universal app, or a Sony app, or a Paramount app, or a …