Last week, Tim Cook shared that television was an area of "intense interest" for Apple, stoking the rumor mill once again that the company will come out with a TV at some point. Today, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty shared results from a proprietary survey of 1,568 U.S. heads of household from September. Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt shares some of the results of the survey.
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11% of respondents said they would be "extremely interested" in buying an Apple-branded TV set, which translates into 13 million units in the U.S. alone. 36% said they would be "somewhat interested," which could translate into another 43 million units.
The 47% who were either "extremely" or "somewhat" interested is more than twice the 23% who said they were interested in buying an iPhone and the 21% who were interested in an iPad before either of those products were released.
Respondents who owned at least one Apple device were nearly four times more interested in buying an iTV that those who did not.46% of respondents were willing to pay over $1,000 for an iTV and 10% were willing to pay over $2,000. On average, respondents were willing to pony up $1,060, a 20% premium over the the average $884 they paid for their current TV set.
Further, Huberty lays out three strategies for Apple to fix television. The company could become a "full-blown virtual cable service provider"; partner with existing pay-TV carriers and replace their set-top box with its own; or Apple could "bundle the TV set with its existing Apple TV" box.
Of course, there have been years of speculation about a potential Apple TV. Following the release of Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, in which Jobs said he had "cracked" television, rumors have taken on a more fervent tone.
Top Rated Comments
A more advanced Apple TV (the box), yes!
How is 1500 a representative sample of the whole US?
They are Heads of households. Which means they want an Apple TV but the wife will veto it.
Even if they add apps, it's still not a huge selling point for TV's. It's really not in the same place the mobile phone or tablet markets were in. TV systems are VERY different around the world.
AppleTV hasnt really worked so far, and slapping an app store on top of it really isnt going to make it any better.
(also for what its worth, you can get a RaspberryPi hooked up to your TV for $25, with Airplay, XBMC, Browsing, Apps, Netflix, etc).
Edit: Almost forgot - Microsoft has already started eating into the AppleTV's market with the Xbox - including this update today: Microsoft notices Xbox gamers, adds 43 new apps (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/11/microsoft_xbox_mostly_use/)
Edit2: Another thought: You have to currently Jailbreak the AppleTV if you dont want to be stupidly restricted to Apples select few video formats. The rPi (and Xbox, and every other TV addon) can do pretty much any video format.