We’ve heard whispers of Apple launching a streaming video service in the iTunes Store before, and now a new report from The New York Post claims that the company is “pushing ahead” to get such a service off the ground by Christmas.
According to the report, Apple “point man” Eddy Cue has been in talks with leading content providers to negotiate distribution deals for what will presumably pave the way for the mystical iTV.
For months, Apple’s point man, Eddie Cue, has been leading talks with content providers, which have largely balked at the tech giant’s efforts to exert control over all aspects of the video service, including pricing, sources said.
Apple’s negotiating stance can be summed up as “we decide the price, we decide what content,” according to one source familiar with the talks.
An unnamed media executive told The Post, “They [Apple] want everything for nothing.” It sounds like Apple is bulldozing itself into the market just as it did in the music industry.
The “channels as apps” concept Apple is proposing would either be offered in a packaged fee or an a la carte model. Streaming TV would be provided through Apple’s upcoming service to the current Apple TV set-top box and most likely the future iTV.
“They want to create the interface, and they wanted to work with the cable guys to manage bandwidth across the TV and broadband pipeline,” said one source familiar with the talks.
Apple is reportedly in talks with AT&T and Verizon to help get a foot in the door of the lucrative TV market. The carriers would presumably also help with streaming bandwidth costs over 3G if Apple’s new TV service made its way to other iOS devices.
The New York Post also corroborates previous reports that Apple will release a new Apple TV set-top box at its iPad event on March 7th.
Considering that Apple has been trying to get a streaming video service off the ground since 2009, we can’t wait to see what the company can get accomplished in 2012. Hopefully content providers are starting to realize that they need Apple if they want to stand a chance against the future of TV and movie distribution.
