Following Apple’s recent deal with The CW network over rights to stream their programming to the Apple TV, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt confirms that they have also been holding similar talks with Apple over streaming video. The statements were given at the Bank of America Merill Lynch Global Telecom and Media Conference, and are interesting on several levels.
Here’s the direct quote, courtesy of FierceCable (via MacRumors):
“You should assume we’re talking to everyone who makes devices like this, whether it’s Samsung smart TVs, Apple, Microsoft,” Britt said at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Telecom and Media conference. Britt’s remarks suggest Time Warner Cable may eventually offer the TWC TV app through the Apple TV set-top and Microsoft’s new Xbox One gaming console, which will debut later this year.
That will make Time Warner the second company after CW to get their own dedicated Apple TV app. Time Warner already offers a similar arrangement through Roku’s streaming boxes. Such an app would likely function similarly to the Roku app.
With this standing out as the second deal in as many months that Apple has made with a major TV content company, one cannot help but wonder if they may be laying the groundwork for further arrangements – perhaps the rumored Apple HDTV or cable set-top box everyone has been buzzing about? Britt even specifically notes the term “set-top box” in his comments, although that could just be a reference to the current Apple TV.
We’ll let you know if we hear anything more – but this seems like the beginning of something much bigger to me.
“You should assume we’re talking to everyone who makes devices like this, whether it’s Samsung smart TVs, Apple, Microsoft,” Britt said at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Telecom and Media conference. Britt’s remarks suggest Time Warner Cable may eventually offer the TWC TV app through the Apple TV set-top and Microsoft’s new Xbox One gaming console, which will debut later this year.
Apple recently struck a deal with the CW network to bring content to the Apple TV through a dedicated CW app, and it appears that Apple is open to other deals that could potentially bring the TWC TV to the Apple TV. Presumably, such an app would function similarly to the version offered via Roku, allowing Time Warner Cable subscribers to use the Apple TV to stream live television channels.
Britt’s comments confirm a Wall Street Journal report from last year, which suggested that Apple was working on deals to create a set-top box that would allow user to view live cable channels.
Such deals with cable companies are necessary if Apple wants to expand its product lineup with additional TV-centric products like the “iTV,” which has been rumored to be in the works since 2011. At the D11 conference last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook reiteratedthat television continues to be an “area of great interest” for the company.
