Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has tapped former Amazon TV director, Timothy Twerdah. This suggests that the tech giant still believes in a growth of its TV product, which is at the bottom of the U.S. connected TV market, according to new data from eMarketer.
Twerdah, who was general manager and director of Amazon’s Fire TV business, will focus on content deals for the TV, freeing up other executives for other tasks, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Twerdah reportedly will oversee the TV product marketing activities. He will report to Vice President Greg Joswiak.
His appointment was confirmed by Apple to Bloomberg. The company told the publication that Twerdahl joined Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) earlier this month.
Twerdahl brings a lot of online video streaming experience to Apple. Prior to joining Amazon, he worked at Netflix in an executive role. Prior to that, he was vice president at Roku. Twerdahl’s experience in video content could bolster the tech giant’s efforts to make its TV device a hit product.
How is Twerdah going to help Apple?
Apple TV is a set-top device that streams video content. It competes with Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast, and Roku.
The appointment of Twerdah suggests that the iPhone maker is putting a renewed focus on the TV, 9to5 Mac reported.
During the most recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook mentioned that the firm has more features and updates in store for its TV product. However, he did not provide specifics details.
Rumors suggest that the iPhone maker would launch a streaming service for TV content. However, reports indicate that the company continues to negotiate with the TV networks in the United States.
So, we expect that Twerdah may help Apple negotiate the content deals with the TV networks.
At the end of December 2015, Bloomberg reported that Apple might put its plans for the streaming service on hold because it failed to convince the cable companies and networks.
The report suggested that the iPhone maker may ditch the idea and focus on offering the tvOS platform for media companies to sell their content directly to consumers via the App Store.
