Malcolm Owen
Famed investor Warren Buffett is uncertain about Apple's attempts to enter the highly-competitive streaming video market, but advises he believes its failure could end up being good for the company, especially one that strives for perfection in all areas of its business.
Speaking at The Gatehouse's Hands Up for Success luncheon on Thursday, Buffett expressed doubts about the Apple TV+ and Channels subscription, which were unveiled by the company on Monday. The number of opponents in the field ahead of Apple will make things tough to gain traction, he revealed, advising "You've got some very big players who are going to fight over those eyeballs."
Buffett believes the number of hours viewers can watch content for is limited by how much time there is in the day, reports CNBC. "You have very smart people with lots of resources trying to figure out how to grab another half hour of your time," he said. "I would not want to play in that game myself."
"Ten years from now, when we look at entertainment delivery, it will be what people want. It will be in the form they want," the Sage of Omaha proclaimed. "It's going to be a very, very big, hotly contested game, and the one thing I can guarantee is that the public will be the winner."
While casting doubt on Apple's video efforts, Buffett does suggest this may be a good thing overall if it fails. "I'd love to see them succeed, but thats a company that can afford a mistake or two," Buffet remarked. "You don't want to buy stock in the company that has to do everything right. Apple should do some things that don't work."
Berkshire Hathaway, which Warren Buffett chairs, currently has Apple as its largest investment in its portfolio. Despite reducing its stake in late 2018, the firm still owns a 5.5 percent share of Apple.
Buffett also passed comment on the payments industry when asked about Apple Card, the company's financial service made in partnership with Goldman Sachs. In Buffett's view "everybody in the world wants to control payments."
Berkshire Hathaway has an 18-percent stake in American Express.
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31 Comments
Apple’s first efforts already failed. Remember “Carpool Karaoke” or “Planet of the Apps”?
I think the same story was said about the iPhone too (in so many words)... humble sales, but then later took off like a Roman candle.
This is going to be another hobby for awhile. I do not think anyone has quite figure out the killer app for TV. The more I talk to people who cut the cord their biggest complaint is the fact you can not easily switch between live content, (channel surfing). If you know exactly what you want to watch streaming is great, especially if you are into binge watching. But when you just want to mindlessly watch something it is not easy to just flip from channel to channel to find something new.
"Buffet believes the number of hours viewers can watch content for is limited by how much time there is in the day."
What a crazy belief. Where does he get these wacky notions?