Are you one of the millions that has been patiently waiting for the Apple TV streaming service to launch? If so, your wait will be longer. According to Mac World, the CEO of CBS, Les Moonves, has said the highly anticipated streaming service will not be released any time soon. With the original announcement, Moonves stated that CBS would likely be included as one of the offered services, but the future is uncertain now.
The issues behind the delay seem to come from price negotiations. Apple’s goal was to provide their service through an Apple set top box, at a rate of half the normal cable costs. With different licensing agreement complications, their dream to launch the ambitious streaming service is shown to have stalled. Is it possible that Apple underestimated the amount of work behind this type of project?
Moonves has also said the end of the large cable TV and satellite providers is coming sooner than later. For many years, people have been unhappy with paying for channels that they would never watch. Providers have ignored these comments, and have kept the same model. Over time, constant price increases by these companies have encouraged many people to “cut the cord” and drop cable or satellite all together.
In an attempt to capture some of the market, many channels are offering “Over The Top” streaming services. That means they are not controlled by a multi channel operator. As this trend continues, some channels will likely drop out of the market all together. The era of streaming is here, with or without the likes of Apple TV.
Apple has had a history of launching products and services later than expected, but it is typically worth the wait. The real question is will they be able to offer the kind of solutions they are aiming for? We will have awhile to ponder that question.
