Bloomberg added to its report on Apple's alleged plans for a 99 cent TV show rental service, and cited an anonymous source in stating the Sept. 7 event date.
"Episodes will be available to Apple's rental service within 24 hours of their air dates and will be commercial-free, one of the people said," author Peter Burrows wrote. "Apple plans to hold a San Francisco Event Sept. 7, two weeks ahead of the start of the new prime-time TV season, to unveil the service and an updated line of entertainment products, two people said."
The report also added that the new Apple TV, called "iTV" in some rumors, will be a "new direction" for the company. Apple previously attempted to start a subscription TV plan, but networks reportedly rejected the company's pitch. A subscription plan could cut into the high retransmission rates that networks receive from cable operators, the report said.
The information was added to an initial report filed Tuesday by Bloomberg, in which the publication said that Apple was in "advanced talks" with News Corp., owner of the Fox network, to offer 99 cent TV show rentals ahead of an anticipated Apple TV update. Apple is also said to be in negotiations with CBS and ABC for a service that would allow users to rent shows through iTunes for 48 hours.
The report also said that Apple, at its planned Sept. 7 event, will introduce a new iPod touch with a higher-resolution screen, as well as a cloud-centric Apple TV with less internal storage starting at $99.
Previous reports have also shed light on Apple's alleged Apple TV refresh, which one rumor claimed will be called iTV. It has been suggested the new hardware will run Apple's iOS operating system and will allow access to software on the App Store.
Digg Founder Kevin Rose said Apple's iAds will allow content producers to directly monetize and distribute their content, and the new "iTV" will turn the iPad into a remote control as the "preferred input device." He also suggested that the iPad could be used to edit videos, control games, and see alternate camera angles with an "interactive television experience."
24 Comments
Hello and thank you.
First of all, I'd like to share with you some amazing, magical numbers.
We're number one in everything except to those things where we are number two or three! Isn't that just insane? Yeah, thanks, I also thought you'd like to know that.
Now, we know you've been hearing about this new product we are supposedly working on.
And, you know, it's about TV. And no one got TV thus far, all attempts failed so far, we even dubbed ours as an "hobby". So it's a problem no one solved.
But I think we have come up with the solution.
Many rumours have come up with what the device is like and what it does. What you don't know is how magical it is. How revolutionary. This will leapfrog everything on the market for years.
It's magical. Simply is. You gotta buy it to believe it!
LuisDias, I bet your pretty close. and I bet ill buy one too. i hate my cable company and really like my phone company.... so im willing to give my phone company a try at TV. I am really hoping they make it work.... Need college football though and noone really talks about how to get live events through iTV or google TV
I guess this means they have solved the legal issues with the iTV name... or maybe it'll be called something else
LuisDias, I bet your pretty close. and I bet ill buy one too. i hate my cable company and really like my phone company.... so im willing to give my phone company a try at TV. I am really hoping they make it work.... Need college football though and noone really talks about how to get live events through iTV or google TV
Exactly my problem. I hate my cable company too. iTV would be great. But I need my live sports.
But again, this is all rumors. No one really knows what's coming out.
I'll be very surprised indeed if Apple has managed to convince the content providers to get over their old-school International market thinking. If it comes to fruition at all, it will be USA exclusive for a period, with International services rolling out slowly after that with a very limited selection of programmes, probably days or weeks after US transmission.
I would love to be proved wrong.