Mark Cuban: An Apple Set-Top Box "Would Be A Huge Success." And he's right.

Though experts say that's exactly why such a product won't see the light of day. The reasons are:

1. They would be turning over their user experience to Apple, allowing the company to drive the UI and therefore reshape the video experience as it determined, just as it has done in music with iTunes.

2. The pay-TV industry finds itself in no quandary, and in no need of Apple's rescue. F.ex., Apple TV still remains just a "hobby." It's a niche product that for most people is not going to supplant a pay-TV subscription any time soon.

What do you think, will Apple conquer the world of pay-TV subscription? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Comcast Loses Subscribers: still feeling good about the future.

Last Friday morning Comcast reported strong Q3 '12 results, including its 8th straight quarter of lower year-over-year video subscriber losses. For Q3 '12, it lost 117K subscribers, vs. 165K in Q3 '11. 

This pattern stretches all the way back to Q4 '10, when Comcast lost 135K subscribers, vs. the 199K it lost in Q4 '09. 
Obviously no business likes to lose customers, but Comcast's (and all cable operators') reality is that with the incursion of telcos and satellite operators, some market fragmentation was inevitable.