Apple's TV ad-skipping proposition: If you can't beat 'em, pay 'em
TV ads: They’re loud, they’re intrusive, and, in this age of on-demand streaming from Netflix and its competitors, they’re increasingly anachronistic. And yet, the television industry has been sticking to its guns with a vehemence that would make Charlton Heston proud.
Apple may be looking for a way around that status quo, if a story from former Wall Street Journal writer Jessica Lessin is any indication: Cupertino has reportedly proposed to television companies a system whereby users of a hypothetical Apple television service would be able to skip ads, while the networks would be recompensed for those missed commercials.
Rumors and whispers of Apple’s forays into the deep end of the television pool have persisted for years now, but little progress seems to be made—publicly, at least. The ad-skipping plan is the latest in a long line of rumored back-room negotiations with the powers that broadcast.
Ad nauseam
While ad-skipping is nothing new, it’s a perfectly Apple suggestion. Though the company currently plays ball with a multitude of video providers for its Apple TV set-top box—more than a few of which show ads—it’s no stretch to believe that Apple sees the commercials a necessary evil.
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