Apple Gets Closer On TV Service, But Can It Make It Better Than Cable?

Apple Inc. reinvented the home computer, music player, mobile phone and tablet, and will soon do the same to the wristwatch. But not TV -- until now. Although television innovation has eluded Apple for years, the Cupertino, California, company appears to be making headway in talks with programmers to offer a bundle of channels that would be sold directly by the firm and streamed over the Web, according to Re/code.

It’s an approach similar to the ones taken by Dish Network with its Sling TV, launched last month, and Sony with its PlayStation Vue, promised for later this year.

Apple’s efforts to get into the TV business have been drawn out for years. In 2009, the company pitched industry executives a $30-per-month TV subscription service through iTunes, as AllThingsD reported at the time. More recently, it conducted talks with cable providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable to develop a set-top box that interfaced with their own networks and services. But disagreements during the negotiations reportedly slowed efforts to bring a new Apple TV offering to market.

With Dish now in the online pay-TV market and Sony working to get in it as well, Apple may stand a better chance of making it happen for itself. But it remains to be seen whether the company can create a value proposition that truly stands out when compared with the rest of the TV services on the market.

Apple hasn’t disclosed specific details of its plans for Apple TV, aside from saying it is looking closely at that area.

Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed his displeasure with the current TV experience. “TV is one of those things that is stuck back in the ’70s,” Cook said in an interview with Charlie Rose. “Think about all the things that have changed, and TV almost feels like you’re rewinding the clock; the interface is terrible. It’s awful.”