In the months leading to the release of the new Apple TV last year, reports claimed that Apple was also working with media companies to offer a streaming TV service. The service was said to include about 25 channels and have a monthly charge of between $30 and $40 per month, with customers able to watch both live content and content on demand.
About a year ago, the negotiations between Apple and all four major broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox were reported to be going well, with the streaming service said to be primed for a release in fall 2015.
A report in February this year revealed that discussions were not going as well as previously said.
CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said that the big names in the TV industry and content creators have not yet come to an agreement with Apple.
To this day, the streaming service has not yet materialized. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, this is because of Apple's tough stance in negotiations, as the company offered too little money in exchange for too many demands.
The report, whose sources were anonymous TV executives, but none from Apple, places much of the blame on Eddy Cue, who is Apple's senior VP for Internet Software and Services.
In one anecdote, Cue was said to be late for a meeting with executives from Time Warner Cable, in addition to being underdressed, wearing only a Hawaiian shirt, jeans and tennis shoes with no socks. His requests reportedly included on-demand content for popular TV shows, along with cloud-based recordings of programs similar to Tivo that would allow for the skipping of advertisements.
Cue was also said to have a single response in the negotiations: "We're Apple." Former executives from Time Warner Cable said that when Apple was asked how the streaming service would work, the company simply replied that its software would be better than anything that Time Warner Cable has ever had.
The report paints Apple as a very difficult company to negotiate with. While Apple was able to swing its name to compile a massive song library from the biggest record labels in the world for Apple Music and strike profitable revenue-sharing deals with developers for the App Store, it has not achieved the same success in the TV industry.
With negotiations to source content from TV networks now stalling, it seems that Apple is changing direction and is now focusing on acquiring original content. The company just recently purchased James Corden's Carpool Karaoke, and is said to be bidding to acquire Formula One.
