Intel’s planned streaming TV service is stalling hard

The streaming media service being developed by chip-maker Intel is getting pushed back to at least 2014, according to a Variety report that cites anonymous industry sources familiar with the matter.

It’s hard to say how well an Intel streaming service would fare against the current crop of competitors because we actually haven’t seen it in action — not even a prototype or beta offering. Intel Media executives previously said its streaming service would work along side cable and satellite TV subscriptions and provide people with a more comprehensive, organized way to watch and manage programming. It’s not trying to go the à la carte route either, and plans to offer people “bundled” content packages from TV networks, which sort of sounds like it will directly compete with traditional cable TV, but again it’s hard to say. We also know that it’ll be bundled with a streaming set-top box produced by Intel and that it will likely be pretty expensive.

If those details don’t instill a great deal of confidence about Intel’s planned streaming TV plans, then it seems that you are not alone, as the company apparently is feeling the same. That could be part of why it’s decided to push back launching the service, which was originally scheduled to debut during the 2013 holiday season, until next year.

Another possibility for the delay could have something to do with difficulty in reaching content licensing deals with media companies. Intel has also held talks with a number of outside companies about a partnership for its new streaming service, which was first reported by AllThingsD earlier this week. Some of the companies Intel is hoping to partner with include Samsung, Amazon, Liberty Media, and even Netflix.

Even if Intel manages to get its service off the ground and nail down a more concrete launch date, it’ll likely face competition from a handful of other tech giants hoping to offer a similar streaming TV service that may or may not replace cable TV. Apple has long been rumored to be working behind the scenes on a TV service it could bundle together with its Apple TV set-top box and other hardware. Also, Google is allegedly developing its own streaming TV service, too.