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Remember that Apple TV service everyone’s been waiting for? Looks like you’re going to wait even longer.
Apple has paused plans for a service that streams live TV over the Internet, according to CBS CEO Les Moonves. The executive made the comments Tuesday at the Business Insider Ignition conference in New York. CBS is the parent company of CNET.
“They’ve had conversations on it, and I think they pressed the hold button,” Moonves said, according to Business Insider.
He added that Apple and CBS had nearly settled on a selling point of $30 to $40 a month for a bundle of channels. Users would be able to watch live television through an Apple TV box without having a traditional cable subscription. Instead, Apple has decided to hold off on the service, Moonves said.
More on Apple TV
- CNET’s take on the new Apple TV
- Where the heck is Apple TV?
- CBS would join Apple’s TV service, if the price was right
Apple declined to comment. CBS didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information.
For years, getting traditional TV content through the Internet remained out of reach as programmers held tight to the rights to their channels, worried that so called “over-the-top” delivery would chip away at the number of people watching through traditional distributors like cable and satellite providers. As the number of people subscribing to traditional pay-TV services began to slide regardless, networks began to loosen the reins to allow new online options like Dish Network’s Sling TV and Sony PlayStation’s Vue to launch.
Apple has been working on a live, Internet-based TV service for years, but such an offering has failed to materialize. There’s no rush for TV content companies to make deals with Apple, so they can hold out for better terms. And securing rights for the country’s hundreds of local stations isn’t as simple as sealing a deal with few parent companies.
Moonves has been vocal about his talks with Apple. In May, he said he would reach a deal with Apple if the financial terms were right.
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