Yet another report has surfaced indicating that Apple won’t be releasing a new Apple television device this year, or for the foreseeable future.
The new device allegedly would mix the innovation and developer enthusiasm of Apple’s App Store for iOS devices with the current pay-TV subscription cable and satellite services. However, to accomplish success, Apple needs to forge partnerships with the media companies that produce popular TV content and ally with a cable TV provider allowing Apple’s new device to be used in place of a regular cable box.
Thus far, Apple hasn’t been very successful in its negotiations with media and cable companies, which put its plans for a revolutionary TV device on hold for the time being, according to a recent Bloomberg report. One of the main disagreements centered on how to sell the device. Apple obviously wants to sell it directly to consumers via its online store and many retail locations. Cable companies, on the other hand, are leaning towards distributing it along with a TV service agreement.
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Bloomberg’s report lines up with early information indicating that Apple was hitting a brick wall in its content licensing discussions with major broadcast networks, as VentureBeat previously reported.
Some speculate that Time Warner Cable was the most likely candidate to partner with Apple, much in the same way that the technology giant partnered with AT&T to launch the iPhone.
Regardless of what Apple’s plans are for the television industry, it seems we won’t see any solid developments for quite a while.
Apple iTV mockup by Guilherme Schasiepen/Flickr
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