“Over the top” pay-TV service is in its early stages

Feb 5, 2015 08:00 GMT  ·  By

Instead of making a big-screen TV like many have hoped (and still do), Apple has plans to enter the living-room with a web-based television service that likely won’t require any extra hardware, other than the set-top box it currently sells.

Re/code has heard from industry executives that “Apple is in talks with TV programmers about deals that would allow Apple to offer an ‘over the top’ pay-TV service, like the one Dish has started selling with its Sling TV product, and the one Sony is getting ready to launch.”

A web-based service

The product is mainly software, according to the sources. Several developers have been approached to start creating the service, and some are yet to be even briefed on the project’s details. In other words, development is still in its earliest of stages.

Apple will basically bundle programs that people will purchase as packages, so it will not be a reinvented experience from this particular standpoint. However, what Apple can (and probably will) do to amaze the user base will be to wrap an attractive and highly friendly interface around the service. Remote control functions will also play a key role, most likely.

Years in the making

Rumors about Apple reinventing the television have been swirling around for years, but the company has had no success in persuading content providers to play ball.

When Walter Isaacson wrote that Steve Jobs said he’d “cracked it,” everyone expected something from Apple. That didn’t happen then, but it might happen now. However, many people still don’t understand that Jobs was referring to the interface and the product’s usability, rather than the content being fed to the hardware.

Apple is expected to hold a media event in the coming months. It is somewhat possible that the company will announce its television initiative at the showcase, but the actual product may not ship until next year, considering how early in development it currently is.