Thoughts on Apple’s NBA All-Star Weekend Film in Apple Immersive Video, Apple Immersive Video and Sports Questions, The Big Picture
Hello everyone. For today’s special Friday edition of Above Avalon Daily, we are going to wrap up our Apple Immersive Video discussion.
We had very good reason to believe that Apple was going to release an Apple Immersive Video film for 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. Here was a tweet of mine from February depicting Apple’s immersive cameras at the Slam Dunk contest.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had also dropped hints of the NBA working with Apple on such a project. Apple then included a few clips from the event in an Apple Immersive Video trailer.
Eight months later, timed to coincide with the start of the new NBA season, Apple will be releasing its 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend film in Apple Immersive Video to Apple Vision Pro wearers next Friday.
A few days ago, I received a pre-screening of the short film.
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NBA Media Rights Negotiations Wrapping Up, Where’s Apple?, NBA and Apple Immersive Video
Today's update will have an NBA / Apple theme. We begin with a close look at how the NBA media rights negotiations are trending (via the WSJ). The discussion goes over who are likely to be the big winners. We then turn to Apple and look at where the company is relative to NBA media rights. The update concludes with some ways the NBA can embrace Apple Immersive Video.
Hello everyone.
Some quick follow-up to yesterday’s discussion.
We talked about how publishers are receiving attractive monetization terms from Apple News and Apple News+. As for some of the details, if a publisher participates in the News Partner Program, they receive a 15% commission rate on in-app purchase subscriptions through their iOS app. This includes monthly subscription signups. That is not a bad commission rate, especially considering how other platforms for writers, like Substack, charge 10%. For Apple News ads monetization, publishers keep 100% of ads that they sell and 70% of ads that Apple sells. Again, not bad.
Today's update will have an NBA / Apple theme.
NBA Media Rights Negotiations Wrapping Up
Here’s the WSJ:
“The National Basketball Association entered its first TV negotiations in a decade with a problem: Its main business partners seemed to be on shaky footing.
TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery was saddled with more than $40 billion in debt, while ESPN parent Disney was battling a Wall Street activist over its slumping stock. Each company was reluctant to pony up the full premium the league wanted. But the NBA had quietly laid the groundwork with two other potential partners, Amazon and NBC, who pounced as soon as they got the chance.
Now, with negotiations ongoing as the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks prepare to face off in the NBA Finals, the league is on track to score big: It is closing in on deals with NBC, ESPN and Amazon that would bring in about $76 billion in media revenue over 11 years, people familiar with the discussions said.
The NBA sweepstakes has turned into a defining moment for the TV industry, highlighting the anxieties of traditional media companies about the collapse of cable and their uncertain financial futures in the streaming world. It has put front-and-center the paradox that sports content is outrageously expensive but also critical to own in an industry in which it is one of the few reliable ways to draw in audiences.”
Here are the NBA media rights details that the WSJ is hearing:
Disney: $2.6B/year for games (fewer than it currently airs) and the NBA Finals. The new ESPN streaming service that will launch will be able to air games.
Comcast (NBCUniversal): $2.5B/year for 100 games per season (half will air exclusively on Peacock). The NBC games
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Signs Point to New Beats Pill Speaker, Google and Magic Leap Form Partnership, First Up-Close Shots of Apple’s Immersive Video Cameras
Happy Friday.
We will conclude this week’s updates with three stories that caught my interest. The discussion begins with a new Beats speaker. We then turn to AR land and news of Google and Magic Leap forming a partnership. The update concludes with Apple Immersive Video.
Let’s jump right in.
Signs Point to New Beats Pill Speaker
We purposely don’t spend too much time talking Apple product rumors, partially because such rumors never end. However, there is one particular rumor that relates to a few recent discussion topics.
“Apple is preparing to launch its second Beats Pill product since acquiring the audio brand nearly a decade ago. After being bought by Apple in 2014, Beats introduced the Beats Pill+ that sold from 2015 to 2020. While it was discontinued without a replacement in sight, the forthcoming Beats Pill has been showing up everywhere from celebrity sightings to regulatory listings…
While good sound is key to great Bluetooth speakers, features and compatibility are equally important for creating standout products. 9to5Mac can report that the 2024 Beats Pill will bring a number of tricks and benefits over the discontinued Beats Pill+.
The new Beats Pill doubles battery life from up to 12 hours to up to 24 hours.
An IP67 rating adds dust and water resistance that previous hardware lacked.
The Bluetooth speaker will be compatible with both iOS and Android for one-touch pairing and auto pairing to compatible devices.
The 2024 Beats Pill adds Apple Find My and Google’s Find My Device compatibility for tracking down lost hardware."
One of those celebrity sightings included Lebron James (shown below with the rumored new Beats Pill speaker).
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Apple Releases "2023 MLS Cup Highlights" for Vision Pro, A Breathtaking Moment for Vision Pro, Apple Immersive Video Questions
Hello everyone. It feels good to be back after a long weekend. We will get back into the swing of things by discussing one thing that captured my attention in recent days: Apple releasing a new immersive film for Apple Vision Pro.
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Apple Adds Dozens of Licensed Movies to Apple TV+, More Signs of Apple TV+ Momentum, Apple Video Revenue Drivers
Hello everyone. Happy Monday. It's already turning into a busy week for Apple. Today's update will be focused on several Apple TV+ developments and Apple’s broader video play.
Let’s jump right in.
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Apple Announces First Immersive Video for Sports, Vision Pro and Apple Immersive Video, Why Is Apple Sports iPhone-Only?
Happy Thursday. In today’s update, our discussion will begin with the new Apple Immersive Video format found on Apple Vision Pro. There is then one follow-up regarding the new Apple Sports app.
One quick item: I have been using Apple Vision Pro for roughly a week. Zeiss Optical Inserts arrived just a few days ago. My plan is to use the device for some time, naturally see where it fits into my live, before publishing something along the lines of in-depth review or report. In more than a few ways, the initial round of reviews came across as rushed. When we talk about Apple Vision Pro in this update, my perspective is based on actually using the device for some time, and not just the two pre-launch demos.
Let's jump right in.
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