A report from Bloomberg today said that Apple is struggling to come to common ground with Comcast-owned CBS, Fox, and NBC in negotiations to offer a live TV streaming service much like Dish's Sling TV.
The rumored service would be targeted at cord cutters, hosting a handful of live channels bundled together for about $30 to $40 a month. Back in March, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple's service would include networks like ABC, CBS, Fox, and various subsidiary channels like ESPN and FX. Apple has been pushing hard to develop a news and entertainment ecosystem to keep its users locked into its product line—earlier this year Apple announced a music streaming service and a curated news platform.
Although a September launch date—which would have coincided with the start of the new TV season—had originally been rumored for the service, Bloomberg's sources now say that live-TV streaming won't hit the market until 2016. Besides the stalemate Apple has reached with CBS, Fox, and NBC, Bloomberg says that Apple decided to put a live-TV service on the back burner because it “doesn't have the computer network capacity in place to ensure a good viewing experience.” Network capacity is a big deal for live-streaming—in Sling TV's early days it struggled with the crush of customers demanding March Madness games.
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