What Apple and Netflix now Have in Common

With the news (or rumors) that Apple is going to launch its own streaming music service to rival Pandora, Apple now joins Netflix in contemplating a major expansion, possibly a repositioning, of core content services.  

The issue is the difference between real time services and pay per view. There is a market for non-real time, pre-recorded content. That's what CDs, pay per view and movies on demand are all about. But that is only part of the video business. 

Perhaps the bigger part of the business is "linear" or "real time" content, including radio, sports content, news and other real time content. 

That's why the recent Netflix moves into original "TV series" content are important. Up to this point, Netflix has been a good vehicle for enjoying pre-recorded content. In the future, Netflix will start to emulate the value of a TV network, offering a mix of pre-recorded and ultimately "live" programming. 

For similar reasons, Apple wants to sell "radio" or streaming experiences, not just pay per view or pay per listen or a different way to buy pre-recorded content.