Apple fans waiting for the long-anticipated Apple TV streaming service may just have to wait a bit longer.
Apple’s initial plans were to launch a live TV service by the end of this year, but it looks like licensing deals are taking longer than the company thought. Many thought that Apple’s Sept. 9 press conference would be to announce the TV service’s launch - perfect timing, just before the launch of broadcast’s fall television season.
Deals with TV networks and media companies including CBS and 21st Century Fox are stalling and Apple’s current network doesn’t have the capacity for viewing quality to equal its rivals, according to Variety.
The initial plan was to sell a live TV service to customers at roughly $40 per month, targeting cord cutters and consumers fed up with rising cable subscription costs. But Apple is hitting a roadblock with networks such as Fox, NBC and CBS, because they expect new Web-based deals to meet or exceed current licensing deals networks have with cable and satellite partners. Sources from Apple say that deals with those networks have been dragging out for months.
Apple still plans on announcing a new version of the Apple TV set-top box at its Sept. 9 press conference in San Francisco.
Read more at Variety.
Brief Take: A live TV service would be the ultimate top of Apple’s entertainment pyramid that it’s currently building up with its music and entertainment services across its already established device lineup - of only networks and distributors bow to Apple’s power.
[Image courtesy of Apple]
Tags: