It has been rumored for a few months now that Apple has ambitions to enter the TV streaming market. An announcement of some sort was expected at the Worldwide Developers Conference last month but the company didn’t say anything about TV at that event presumably because its service is not quite ready yet. As per a new report published today the company has made significant progress in striking a deal with major networks for this service.
The New York Post reports that Apple is in advanced talks with major U.S. networks which include CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC. One major hurdle in securing a deal was the fragmented nature of local affiliate feeds that these networks have, but those networks are now reportedly “close to having the right to negotiate with Apple on behalf of their affiliates.”
It is further claimed that Apple wants to keep 30 percent of all subscription revenue generated from the “cable-killer” TV streaming service that it launches and split the rest with content partners and networks. The networks might not like this which could further delay a deal and thus delay the launch of this service.
Apple reportedly hopes to have everything in place by the fall so that it can launch the service then, CBS or Disney are likely to be the first signatories to the deal.
Monthly subscription pricing could be set from somewhere between $10 to $40 per month but seeing as how it’s going to have the major networks on board, I’d put my money on the higher end of that spectrum.
Filed in . Read more about Entertainment.