Apple TV

Apple’s steps to reimagine television, like teaming up with ESPN, stand in stark contrast to efforts by Google to compete with established companies. Apple’s broader strategy — what its chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, recently called its “grand vision” for television — remains shrouded in secrecy, as everything Apple-related tends to be. Some analysts continue to predict, as they have for years, that the company will someday come out with a full-blown television set.

Apple Inc. is nearing a deal with Time Warner Cable to give subscribers of the cable television service access to channels via Apple TV, people with knowledge of the negotiations said. The companies plan to announce an agreement within a few months, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Access to WatchESPN and HBO GO require a cable subscription and HBO subscription, respectively. Sky News gives cord cutters a 24/7 live news stream for free.

Speaking at the All Things Digital D11 Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterated that the computer giant has a strong interest in the TV market, but wouldn’t divulge any specifics on plans to release a dedicated Apple television set.

Netflix is not going to kill cable. Nor is Amazon Prime. Nor is the mythical Apple TV. Because if they do, they will essentially be sawing off the limb on which they have built their businesses: content funded by the very cable model against which they offer an alluring alternative. And wow, is it ever funded — programming is expensive, as you may have heard.

A product that doesn’t even exist yet could net Apple as much as $13 billion in revenue from U.S. consumers, according to a study by Morgan Stanley. The nifty device remains hypothetical at this point, but Apple’s plan for an internet-connected television is one of the worst kept secrets in Silicon Valley.

Apple will manufacture of one of its existing Mac lines exclusively in the United States next year, CEO Tim Cook told Brian Williams during an interview for NBC’s Rock Center. Cook also hinted that Apple is ready to redefine the television: “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years,” Cook told Williams. “It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than that.”

Designing the Apple TV gadget may prove easy compared with convincing media and cable companies to loosen their grip on the television industry. This battle is nothing like Apple’s previous forays into the music and mobile phone spheres, when the maker of iPods and iPhones negotiated with weakened record labels and a fractured wireless industry. Now the stakes are even higher and the competition tougher.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of Internet software and services, says Apple won’t get into the television business unless it can create a great user experience, which isn’t the slam dunk people think it is.

Hulu has struck a deal to provide its $7.99-per-month Hulu Plus subscription service via Apple TV starting today. The move could help Apple build a stronger consumer proposition for its Apple TV device, which has remained somewhat of a sideline for the company.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook said technology for televisions was of “intense interest” but stressed the company’s efforts would unfold gradually amid speculation the iPad and iPhone maker was on the brink of unveiling a revolutionary iTV.

Chinese news sources report that the iPhone and iPad maker is preparing the production of an Apple-branded a television set.

That’s according to a research note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who also weighs in on the iPhone 5. Munster said he expects the Apple TV product line to cost between $1,500 and $2,000 and range in size from 42 to 55 inches.

ESPN would consider including its WatchESPN application on Apple Inc.’s television device as long as users authenticate they are pay TV customers, network executive Sean Bratches says.

Apple Inc. began talks earlier this year to stream films owned by EPIX, which is backed by three major movie studios, on devices including a long-anticipated TV, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations.

As the audience for free television fades, federal regulators are wrestling over the future of the government-mandated broadcasts, which were originally intended to knit the nation’s disparate communities together.

A research group says that the long-awaited television set is in the works but most likely won’t debut until next year.

It promises to revolutionise television in the way the iPad did computing, and the chance to make Apple Inc’s much-anticipated smart TV could explain Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry’s bold move to buy into 100-year-old Japanese firm Sharp.

CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said Saturday that he was approached about a year ago by Steve Jobs to provide content for Apple’s long-rumored television service but he declined to participate.

Apple took the wraps off a new retina display iPad (with 4G LTE) and a 1080p Apple TV box today (sorry no TV set), both of which will be available on March 16. While the announcements themselves aren’t particularly groundbreaking — solid incremental improvements — Tim Cook revealed a metric that should be a bit of shocker.

While Apple harbors big TV ambitions, it’s having a tough time getting media companies to play along. Apple is pushing ahead with plans to launch a streaming TV service by Christmas — despite making little headway in its negotiations with content providers.

The chance is low for Apple to launch so-called iTV products in the second quarter of 2012 as there are no signs indicating that Sharp is ready to ship IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) panels to Apple, according to industry sources.

More evidence Apple is gearing up to launch its new Apple TV smart TV. It has contacted at least one major Asian supplier about purchasing television display components, according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster. He told investors on Tuesday that he had recently spoken to a “major TV component supplier” that Apple had contacted “regarding various capabilities of their television display components.”

Apple casts a huge shadow over the world’s largest consumer electronics show as rumors continue to spread that it has its own TV in the works.

LG has taken the wraps off its first Google TV-powered television set, even as rumors of an Apple television loom over the industry.

Apple’s much-expected TV could have one big trick up its sleeve: Giving consumers the power to pick Apple’s much-expected TV could have one big trick up its sleeve: Giving consumers the power to pick — and pay for — only the channels they want.

Technology writer Dan Frommer on why Apple TV should be more than just a set-top box: “An Apple television may not look or work that much different than today’s TVs. But Apple’s combination of hardware design, software and platform depth, services like iCloud, a novel user interface like Siri, and the overall Apple experience could set it apart from today’s TVs.”

An Apple television has been rumored for some time and as Steve Jobs’ biography has revealed, it was one of his dying wishes. But is it good idea?

Apple Inc. is turning to the software engineer who built iTunes to help lead its development of a television set, according to three people with knowledge of the project. Jeff Robbin, who helped create the iPod in addition to the iTunes media store, is now guiding Apple’s internal development of the new TV effort, said the people, who declined to be identified because his role isn’t public.

Finally. Apple TV has pushed a software update that allows viewers to buy and watch TV shows straight from iTunes. Not only that, but Apple TV will let you watch shows purchased from other devices, too.

While a growing number of electronic devices are offering consumers the ability to bypass cable and satellite by delivering TV programming to their sets through broadband connections and Internet-connected TVs and other devices, TV stations aren’t rushing to get on board. Station groups say OTT services are simply too new and unknown. But if growth predictions are correct and if viewers continue to cut their cable cords, stations may have to turn to OTT outlets to insure their shows are reaching consumers.