Bloomberg reports that Apple is nearing a deal with Time Warner Cable, Inc. to offer TV shows on Apple TV, and the company is also said to be recruiting Hulu executive Pete Distad to lead content negotiations with media and cable companies.
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. The iPhone maker is also hiring Pete Distad from online-video service Hulu, where he was senior vice president in charge of marketing and distribution, to help Apple executives in negotiations with media and cable companies, two people with familiar with the matter said.
Apple has been making moves to expand content options for their popular set top box, adding content from HBO and ESPN. The Apple TV is facing stiff competition from the Roku set top box and the Xbox.
“We don’t have an agreement with them at this time,” Susan Leepson, a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable, wrote in an e-mail. Meredith Kendall, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Hulu, declined to comment. A spokesman for Apple declined to comment.
Time Warner Cable is known to have struck similar deals to make their programming available through the Roku online TV device, and the Xbox game console. The company also announced last month that it would start making programming available for some television models made by Samsung. The cable provider also makes channels available for iOS and Android devices via its app called TWC TV.
While media companies have resisted deal for content beyond older shows and movies, a deal with Time Warner Cable would prove that Apple is willing to work within the confines of the existing market, and is not looking to build a competing offering.
