Apple TV is going to win the streaming device war

Apple recently announced their plans to drop the price of Apple TV to $69, giving users a central hub for a variety of streaming services. Compared to other streaming devices of its caliber, this out-prices the competition by at least a few dollars in most cases. With the exception of Chromecast, which lacks a “home base” similar to Apple’s, the Apple TV device now prices itself below competitors such as Amazon Fire TV and Roku.

But the real announcement was that Apple had arranged a three month exclusive of HBO’s newest standalone offering, HBO Now, a standalone streaming service that will feature all HBO content including marquee original Game of Thrones.

This three month window is sure to sell a substantial amount of Apple TV streaming devices, embedding even more users into Apple’s unrivaled user experience. And in the streaming wars, that barrier to entry, being the signup, is the hardest part of acquiring new customers. With the incentive of cord cutters to get HBO access (legitimately), many users who might not  otherwise have considered the purchase of an Apple TV are certainly considering it now.

But more interestingly is Apple’s thirst for exclusives, and this is what other streaming services should fear the most.