CBS CEO Leslie Moonves recently made a statement that puts a damper on those who are waiting for the Apple TV Streaming Service.
Last year, Apple looked around for partnerships with media companies in order to launch its own streaming service. According to Moonves, Apple TV's plans were ambitious. The company wanted to offer its subscribers a select bundle of channels, at an affordable price of $30 or $40, tops.
"Apple is having conversations with everyone about doing their own streaming services," Moonves told Bloomberg in October 2015.
However, the big players in the television market and content creators did not see eye to eye with Apple and no agreement came to be.
"We had conversations awhile back, and we haven't had recent conversations with them," Moonves declares during a CNNMoney interview.
The CBS leader points out that Apple is not the only one looking to monetize the media company's content. He exemplifies by naming a few other digital companies that seek to team up with CBS, such as Amazon or Facebook.
Moonves underlines that Amazon and Netflix were both involved in "buying new programming," which increased the revenue of CBS significantly in the latest years. He adds that the business model of content providers changed at an accelerated pace.
"Something like [40 percent] of the revenue that CBS is getting didn't exist five years ago," he notes.
Moonves refused to answer the CNN reporter's question regarding whether or not Apple will launch its own TV service in 2016. Basically, the CBS leader discreetly confirms what previous reports stated: that Apple is taking its time (read: postponing) the launch of the Apple Streaming Service.
Apple intended to offer a monthly subscription package providing users with a few popular channels. However, media trusts did not see this quality over quantity as a good omen and negotiations reached a stalemate.
Should Apple call the right price, there is a chance that CBS would eventually be part of the tech company's streaming service.
Even though Sony and Dish Network both give access to a cable-like bundle of channels via the Internet, Apple's announcement that it considers providing the service created a bit of hype.
No official information from Apple exists on its upcoming TV strategy.
