Apple launching Web-based subscription TV service this year, says report

Apple is said to be in talks with content providers for a Web-based subscription TV service that could be rolled out later this year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the service is expected to launch this September.

The service is said to debut at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

If negotiations go as planned then around 25 channels, including ABC, CBS and Fox, will be available to watch on the Apple TV and all other devices running Apple’s iOS operating system.

Other networks, including Disney and 21st Century Fox are also said to be in talks with Apple.

WSJ said in its report that Apple is approaching TV executives for a “slimmed-down bundle of TV network this fall”.

The tech giant is apparently set on offering popular channels in a lightweight package that could be priced at around $30 to $40 per month.

 

Not all networks are being approached by Apple

The WSJ said that NBCUniversal, the owner of NBC, is not in talks with Apple because of its “falling-out” with Comcast – the parent company of NBCUniversal.

Rumors of an Apple TV service started circulating years ago

The first reports about an Apple subscription-based TV service were published in 2009. The reports claimed that CBS and Walt Disney were considering participating.

A few years later, in 2012, a report by the WSJ suggested that the TV service would be rolling out.

And then this year rumors about the TV service gained momentum when an article by Re/Code said that Apple was talking with television programmers about a possible web-based TV service.