Friday’s Apple Rumors — Best Buy’s Black Mark

Advertisement

Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Friday:

Best Buy Blacklisted: A rumor originating at CrunchGear claims that Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) isn’t just relying on limited supply to create demand for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2, but is controlling how many it sells each day — regardless of how many it has in stock. Best Buy has reportedly ordered employees to sell a certain number of iPad 2s each day, and once the quote has been filled employees are to tell customers that the tablets are sold out. Apple is reportedly not too happy about Best Buy’s sales strategy. An anonymous tipster told TUAW on Thursday that Apple has halted all iPad 2 shipments to Best Buy and that demo tablets are being pulled from stores. If true, Best Buy should find a way to quickly appease Apple — it isn’t good business for an electronics retailer to be without the most popular electronic device in the country.

iPad Channel Suit: Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) was forced to pull programming from its iPad app last week when Viacom (NYSE:VIA), Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA), and News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) complained that the cable provider had no right to air their content on a separate device — whether or not that content was restricted to paying subscribers. Time Warner said at the time that it had “every right to carry” the programming in question. Time Warner has now asked a court to decide whether or not it is infringing upon Viacom’s copyrights. The cable company claims that the networks in question are imposing “artificial limits” on subscribers’ access. Viacom has in turn filed suit against Time Warner, seeking both compensation for damages and to block the company from putting its shows back on the iPad app until a new contract is written.

The WorldWide Leader: Disney (NYSE:DIS) is embracing the future of television on Apple’s portable devices. Time Warner, Verizon (NYSE:VZ), and Bright House Networks subscribers can now watch Disney’s ESPN network on their iPhone and iPad. By downloading a free app in Apple’s App Store, subscribers get access to ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN3.com, and ESPNU. According to The Wall Street Journal, programming is identical to what appears on regular television.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2011/04/fridays-apple-aapl-rumors-bby-best-bu/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC