Apple not expected to unveil rumored TV service at WWDC

Apple TV (teaser 001)

Apple won’t be announcing a new subscription TV service at WWDC next week, reports Recode. According to its sources, the Cupertino company has told network executives the unveiling will be postponed until the proper licensing deals are in place.

The holdup seems to be with negotiations over financial terms and new tech that would be required for broadcasters to deliver local programming. Apple is hoping that offering local stations will differentiate its service from Dish’s Sling and others.

Further complicating the matter is that broadcasters don’t own all of the local TV stations that air network programming, so Apple has to get the rights to each station individually. As you can imagine, this is proving to be a time-consuming process.

Apple had originally planned to introduce its web TV service ahead of the upcoming fall television season, but industry executives say that because of the ongoing delays, it may now be looking to launch the service in late 2015 or sometime early next year.

For those who haven’t been keeping up with the rumors, Apple’s TV service is said to feature a slimmed-down channel lineup, an easy-to-use interface, a mix of both live and on-demand programming, and cost much less than standard cable packages.

Service aside, Apple is still expected to unveil a new Apple TV set-top box next week, with a new remote and other features, as well as support for a new native App Store.

Source: Recode