back to article CBS boss says he'll show off his crown jewels on Apple TV – for a large enough check

The head of US TV giant CBS said he is open to a deal that would put the network's programming on Apple's TV boxes – if the price is right. Les Moonves, whose TV empire includes CSI and The Big Bang Theory, said Apple's foray into internet telly will need a television network to create the entertainment. He said Apple will …

  1. Vector

    Keep Dreaming Les

    This may explain why CBS has been such a prig on the internet. They were late to join the Hulu fray and it appears, even now, that the crown jewels are reserved for their own overpriced digital service.

    He can continue to think this way and drive his network slowly into the dust as TV moves onto the internet and content competition starts coming out of the woodwork.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    > To make matters worse, US cable providers have already begun to move away from the lucrative bundle packages networks enjoy by offering a-la-carte programming packages.

    In other news:

    ... Canadian cable providers are being forced to move away from the lucrative bundle packages networks enjoy by offering a-la-carte programming packages.

  3. Greg J Preece

    I love all this "Apple is trying to change the universe" crap, when Netflix already walked in years ago, kicked everyone in the teeth and took their lunch money. I don't have a single device Netflix won't run on - I even have 4K through the decoder in my new TV. Netflix already became the iTunes of TV and didn't write unholy shit software to do it, or lock it down to their preferred platforms. In what universe is this guy living?

    1. DavCrav

      "I love all this "Apple is trying to change the universe" crap, when Netflix already walked in years ago, kicked everyone in the teeth and took their lunch money. I don't have a single device Netflix won't run on - I even have 4K through the decoder in my new TV. Netflix already became the iTunes of TV and didn't write unholy shit software to do it, or lock it down to their preferred platforms. In what universe is this guy living?"

      My guess is Apple is "trying to change the universe" by not paying almost anything for the shows it will then charge a lot for.

  4. Crazy Operations Guy

    Now if only CBS produced something worthwhile...

    I love how he believes that CSI and Big Bang Theory are good shows... Both are full of flat, 1-dimentional characters completely misunderstanding technology, formulaic and predictable plots, and cost way too much to produce. Also, CSI is getting cancelled because of how much it cost to produced each episode, and I don't think that Big Bang Theory is long for this world for the same reason (Why exactly do they need to pay Barbie $1,000,000 an episode?)

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: Now if only CBS produced something worthwhile...

      I love how he believes that CSI and Big Bang Theory are good shows

      For a network, a "good show" is a profitable one, except when posturing to the public, when it's a popular one. (Popular shows are not always the most profitable, since as you point out production costs can vary and generally will increase the longer the show runs.) In neither case does the quality of the characterization, or any other aspect of artistic merit, figure in the evaluation.

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