One of the perks of subscribing to cable TV or using devices like Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, or the Apple TV is that you get access to non-local content and content on demand, which is kind of why customers choose to subscribe to such services to begin with. However it seems that Apple could be thinking of working backwards.
According to a report from Re/code, it has been suggested that Apple is thinking about including local TV stations in its upcoming Apple TV refresh. The idea behind it is that it will help distinguish the Apple TV from the competition as we’re sure that there are customers out there who don’t mind on-demand content but wouldn’t mind having the option of switching to local TV stations too.
However it seems that this idea could potentially force the Apple TV to be delayed as the negotiations are said to be complicated. This is because there are many broadcasters who do not own their local stations, which means that Apple will either have to deal with a middle person or negotiate with the holding company who in turn might see more complications depending on their deal with the broadcasters.
This also means that if the reports are true, we won’t get to see/hear any news about the company’s web TV service at WWDC 2015, although TV executives who are reportedly in talks with Apple have expressed their optimism that the service will launch and it is a matter of when, not if.
Filed in . Read more about Apple TV.