It appears that Apple may currently be in negotiations with several content providers for a new TV delivery service, one that would go around cable companies to provide content directly to customers. Negotiations with cable providers seem to be at a stand-still, Apple is looking at other avenues to expand its presence in the living room. Apple's new strategy would see content delivered from apps, according to Quartz:
Apple is negotiating with production studios and networks to provide content for a television set that would emphasize apps over cable TV, according to people familiar with those discussions. Among the companies that have talked to Apple are Disney’s ESPN, Time Warner’s HBO, and Viacom, which owns MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central.
A pay-TV service from Apple would likely compete with similar offerings from Intel, Sony, and Google, who are pursuing a similar strategy of content delivery. However, reports suggest that a key part of Apple's strategy would be the long-rumored Apple television. Apple wants to control as much of the TV-watching experience as is possible, so moving from a box plugged into your TV to the TV itself would make it easier for them to steer users towards Apple content, rather than switching to another device plugged into the set.
The cable companies are a major obstacle to Apple's plans right now. They have so far prevented individual networks from making their own deals with Apple, and have also not yet reached deals of their own to put their lineups on Apple devices. But that's the plan that Apple's hoping to stick to, letting cable customers get their content directly through an Apple device, be it a TV set or perhaps a newer version of the current Apple TV. It's been rumored for a while that Apple and Time Warner Cable are close to a deal on such a system, with TWC customers accessing cable content through an app on the current Apple TV.
Would you ditch your current cable service to sign up for one from Apple? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Quartz
