AppleInsider Staff
Rumors that Apple is working on a new set-top box are high-profile enough that Comcast saw it fit to cite them on Tuesday as part of a filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
Comcast published the document publicly as well, as part of the company's efforts to have its proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable approved by the government. In the letter, Comcast attempted to portray how its competitors are exploring new ways to offer content to customers, specifically naming Apple, Amazon, Google and Verizon.
Regarding Apple, Comcast cited the iPad as being used by existing cable services to provide content, while Apple's own iTunes and the existing Apple TV are also used to sell video content to consumers.
Comcast then mentioned that the company is exploring "development of an Apple set-top box," seemingly suggesting that a more full-fledged offering could be in the works. The document declines to offer any more details, so it's unknown whether Comcast was simply referring to longstanding rumors, or if the claims were made based on some other knowledge.
The current Apple TV hasn't been updated in two years, and numerous rumors have suggested that the company is working on an update that could be unveiled as soon as this month. While the current Apple TV has been continuously expanded with new content options, it's been suggested that Apple may be considering partnerships with cable providers themselves to provide live and on-demand content to existing subscribers.
As for Comcast, America's largest cable provider has also been rumored to be in talks with Apple regarding potential future partnerships. Specifically, it's been said that Apple is interested in bypassing Web congestion on Comcast's infrastructure to user's homes, which would allow Apple to provide faster and more reliable performance to users watching streaming video content.
Apple was also said to be in talks with Time Warner for a potential partnership, and Comcast announced in February that it hopes to purchase Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $45.2 billion. Comcast's efforts face serious federal scrutiny, however, as the two companies are the largest cable providers in the U.S.
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
50 Comments
Idiots! (Headslap!)
"We need more of a monopoly because all of these internet services (who have to come begging to us for non-throttled bandwidth) might someday get around our monopoly agreements with the content providers". See?
Perhaps Comcast might just be echoing rumors.
I've been pulling for this for a while. Again, people wanting a la carte services might as well concede to the fact it wont happen for a decade. Again- the biggest factor is sports programming and their exclusive deals with TNT, Fox Sports, TBS, amongst the networks as well. Could those services sell individually? I guess- but also very very unlikely seeing as they package their popular stations and force the cable companies to purchase their spare and less-watched stations as a bundle.
If the next Apple TV partners with a handful of companies to provide the UI for their services- I would likely switch from AT&T U-verse to one of their services if the UI & search function was compelling enough.
The FCC needs to break up these content agreements as anticompetitive. We should be able to get Television content from the provider of our choice regardless of who owns the last mile.