New US iPhone Carriers, Updated AppleTV With TV Subscriptions?

A research note by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster suggests that Apple will make some changes in the upcoming year, according to an AppleInsider report.

One predication is that Apple will end its exclusive agreement with AT&T and add other US iPhone carriers.

"For various reasons the company moved from an exclusive relationship with French wireless carrier Orange to a multi-carrier model," Munster said. "In France, the company now enjoys dramatically higher market share (in the 40 percent range vs. about 15 percent in ROW) than in countries with exclusive carrier agreements (such as AT&T in the U.S. where the iPhone has market share in the mid-teens). We believe Apple is seeing the increased unit sell-through more than offset the slightly (~10 percent) deteriorated economics per unit involved in non-exclusive agreements."


AT&T is said to be working hard to keep its exclusivity through 2011; however, Munster believes Apple will announce new carriers in the summer of 2010 along with a new iPhone model.

Munster also suggests that Apple is unhappy with the current TV and Movie offerings in iTunes. "We believe Apple is unhappy with the current status of video on the iTunes Store and is working to change it," Munster said. "These changes, however, will take time, in the form of lengthy negotiations, in order to bring the rights for TV and movies up to speed in a digital world."

His analysis indicates that Apple will soon offer a subscription model for TV Shows that would replace the need for a cable tv subscription.

"While timing on the launch of such a new product is very uncertain given the negotiations that would need to take place, Apple may work to launch it simultaneously with a new version of Apple TV, or an undated Apple TV software within the next year," he said. "Moreover, we believe Apple has wisely avoided a subscription music model, as music listeners prefer to listen to their own music, and listen to it frequently. Movie watchers, on the other hand, prefer to rent, and typically only want to see a movie once or twice. Likewise, TV viewers are not accustomed to purchasing TV shows on an a-la-carte basis, and a subscription TV service would likely be more appealing."


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