Doubts Cast on Revived Rumors of Subscription TV Packages from Apple

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal briefly reported that Apple is working on "new technology" for pushing video content to televisions, apparently linking that work with revived rumors of a subscription TV service. Rumors of such of a service first surfaced in late 2009, but by the iPad launch in March 2010, Apple had been said to have put the plans on hold in the face of opposition from media companies.

ipad ipod itunes parks and rec
But despite The Wall Street Journal's revival of the rumors yesterday, CNET insists that such an offering will not be coming in the near future, if ever, pointing back to a report earlier this month shooting down rumors of an imminent "iTunes Replay" streaming service for movies. The report also cites today's removal of TV show rentals from iTunes as evidence that Apple is moving backwards on the streaming TV front rather than making progress on any subscription deals.

Now does this sound like the studios are willing to back a new subscription service from Apple or for anyone else for that matter? No. Don't put any stock in the rumors that began circulating today. My sources at the studios said three weeks ago that an Apple subscription service is not coming anytime soon, if ever.

The report goes on to note that while Apple has over the course of negotiations with media companies suggested a number of potential business models, the company has yet to seriously push forward on any subscription TV proposals. The company instead seems to be focused more on basic cloud services that would allow users to download or stream purchased content from Apple's servers as needed.

Tag: CNET

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on Apple Products

Saturday July 5, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Amazon is soon to be back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, and there are already many deals you can get on sale ahead of the event. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a ...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...

Top Rated Comments

Peace Avatar
181 months ago
Just imagine..... competing with the cable companies, you could "stream" cable channels right to your TV. Think about it, in the future, the bandwidth that will be available would make this pretty easy. All you need is agreements from HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, etc. or maybe you just subscribe to the channels you want. No more packages and bundles of stuff you don't want.

I'd rather pay Apple $40-50 bucks a month, than pay the cable company $100+. The added bonus, all my other media is available on every TV (with an apple box or what-ever), and iCloud.

Cool apps that run on the TV; home control, security etc. Heck maybe the TV in your kitchen could "see" the bar codes off the products your throwing away, and automatically add them to your shopping list.
A little voice recognition technology combine with a gesture recognition camera, the TV notices we are awake and now we can get our morning RSS news, or our favorite news channel. All this and you never have to touch the remote.
The TV notices that your eyes are closed, that starts the power off timer, now you never get woken-up because you left the TV on. All from the TV (Apple) in our bedroom.
Or, the TV notices that there is a strange person in your house, contacts you or the police.
What do I see in the future? The same stuff that went down with the iPhone....rumors it's coming, then rumors it's not, then BAM!! iCable.:D

Somehow I don't see Comcast allowing customers to use the bandwidth to circumvent the cable offerings they have. They would lose money.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bretm Avatar
181 months ago
IMO it's coming, it's just a matter of when, you can already stream Hulu, Netflix, etc. What would they do? Ban certain connections?
It would be healthy competition, maybe the cable companies would stop charging as much as a cheap/used car payment. They already charge more for faster connections.

Oh it's coming. If you have HULU Plus and Netflix for $15 a month, you don't have much need for cable. You can use the other services built into your TV like VuDu or Amazon to rent the latest flicks. You want TVland stuff, Crackle is there.

I know there's a lot of other stuff not on HULU Plus like maybe Discovery, HGTV, NatGeo, etc. But they've got iPhone apps that stream quite a lot of their content for free, and some on their websites. I'm sure that for a small fee they'd be happy to add their shows a day after they premiere.

Possibly this is where AppleTV would have to go. They would have to convince each content creator like HGTV or NatGeo to provide a "station" that could be subscribed to where all their shows and past episodes were available. Perhaps Apple could create a Hulu like service where you can piece meal the virtual stations and packages you want for much cheaper than cable. I mean, HULU give you all the big time TV shows less than 24 hours after they debut for $8. You'd think another $8-10 would get you everything else. ESPN is already pretty big into ESPN3 streaming content. They see the future.

It's coming. Right now. But right now it's coming in all sorts of un-unified directions - hulu, espn3, netflix, amazon, iTunes/AppleTV, etc. Apple would have to make agreements with all these people. And many of these companies probably have no-competition agreements with the cable TV companies because they're also providing the internet and don't want to compete. Cable companies have the stranglehold I think for now.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Storto Avatar
181 months ago
Well....

Just imagine..... competing with the cable companies, you could "stream" cable channels right to your TV. Think about it, in the future, the bandwidth that will be available would make this pretty easy. All you need is agreements from HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, etc. or maybe you just subscribe to the channels you want. No more packages and bundles of stuff you don't want.

I'd rather pay Apple $40-50 bucks a month, than pay the cable company $100+. The added bonus, all my other media is available on every TV (with an apple box or what-ever), and iCloud.

Cool apps that run on the TV; home control, security etc. Heck maybe the TV in your kitchen could "see" the bar codes off the products your throwing away, and automatically add them to your shopping list.
A little voice recognition technology combine with a gesture recognition camera, the TV notices we are awake and now we can get our morning RSS news, or our favorite news channel. All this and you never have to touch the remote.
The TV notices that your eyes are closed, that starts the power off timer, now you never get woken-up because you left the TV on. All from the TV (Apple) in our bedroom.
Or, the TV notices that there is a strange person in your house, contacts you or the police.
What do I see in the future? The same stuff that went down with the iPhone....rumors it's coming, then rumors it's not, then BAM!! iCable.:D
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Worf Avatar
181 months ago
Even with all it's influence, I can't see :apple: convincing the TV studios for a subscription model, they're still arguing over Hulu. Then again, crazier things have happened in the Tech World.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fwink! Avatar
181 months ago
Just occurred to me: the rumored Apple TV is a cable company. Thus bypassing all the hurdles. Mark it. Done.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
n2arkitektur Avatar
181 months ago
TV viewers' perceptions of value have become distorted by over 50 years of an advertiser-based business model where the viewers are actually the products and the advertisers are the customers of the TV networks. TV viewers have come to place a low value on television entertainment, but there is a very high value to the networks in those ads. Consumers need to realize that they will have to pay a higher up front cost for content in an on demand, commercial-free, a la carte pay TV model, but in the long term, consumers will get a higher value not having to pay for content they aren't consuming and not having to watch ads for products they have no interest in.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)