Steve Jobs May Be Gone But Apple Is Still a Hollywood Power Broker

Network television is hamstringing itself. Not only are executives rehashing old content but they're also refusing to allow premium cable operators such as Comcast to stream more than a handful of prior episodes of current season shows. Apple may very well be to blame.

For example, at XFINITY, Comcast's top-tier service, you can only order up the last three episodes of the surprising winner Elementary. Meanwhile, over at iTunes, you can buy the full season in HD for $34.99. Why the disparity? Some of it surely has to do with advertisers who'd rather not give viewers the choice of merely watching episodes on demand.

But Apple wins, too, and in a big way: iTunes is responsible for roughly two-thirds of television and movie content sold through on-demand stores. And why not? A recent poll says a significant portion of us are more than willing to pay up to circumvent limits on favorites such as Game of Thrones.

For Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova, it's enough for him to wonder if the late Steve Jobs is smiling at us from above, admiring how his TV strategy is coming together exactly as planned.

Do you agree? Please watch to get Tim's full take, and then let us know which shows you buy from iTunes or another on-demand store and why.

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The article Steve Jobs May Be Gone But Apple Is Still a Hollywood Power Broker originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Apple and Netflix at the time of publication. He was also long Jan. 2014 $50 Netflix call options. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Amazon.com, Apple, and Netflix. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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