Apple May Strike Pay-TV Partnership With UK's British Telecom, Pre-Loading Apple TVs With BT Apps

Apple is reportedly holding discussions with United Kingdom-based British Telecom (BT) over a partnership that would make BT's mobile brand EE a "major distributor" of Apple TV devices. Specifically, the telecommunications brand would offer Apple TVs to EE customers, coming pre-loaded with apps that deliver pay-TV content like BT Sport and channels from other broadcasters (via The Telegraph).

apple tv tvos 12
For Apple, the deal would get Apple TVs into the hands of more customers and increase the potential viewership for its upcoming slate of original TV programming, expected in 2019. While BT has invested in building its own set-top boxes to compete with Apple, Amazon, and Sky, BT consumer chief Marc Allera kicked off a new strategy earlier in May to begin "forging deeper partnerships with technology giants."

Apple's partnership with BT is said to be similar to the company's existing deal in Switzerland with telecoms operator and pay-TV provider Salt. Apple has also partnered with Verizon, which will offer customers an Apple TV 4K as part of its residential broadband package coming to four cities this year.

In regards to Apple's original programming, the first of Apple's television shows could debut as soon as March of 2019, potentially through a new video streaming service subscription. The company is also reportedly considering a single subscription bundle offering customers access to TV, Apple Music, and digital magazines (through its Texture acquisition).

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

These 5 Apple Products Will Reportedly Be Upgraded With OLED Displays

Friday January 16, 2026 7:07 pm PST by
Apple plans to upgrade the iPad mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air with OLED displays between 2026 and 2028, according to DigiTimes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that the iPad mini and MacBook Pro will receive an OLED display as early as this year, but he does not expect the MacBook Air to adopt the technology until 2028 at the earliest. A new iPad Air is...
Verizon New

Verizon Offering $20 Credit After Major Outage, Here's How to Get It

Thursday January 15, 2026 7:37 am PST by
Verizon today announced it will be offering customers a $20 account credit after a major outage on Wednesday, and action is required to receive it. The carrier said affected customers can accept the credit by logging into the My Verizon app, but it might take some time before this option shows up in the app. Affected customers will receive a text message when the credit is available. On...

Top Rated Comments

misterc0w Avatar
95 months ago
Let's please not start pre-loading 3rd party apps onto iOS devices.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
95 months ago
How about a nice metallic sticker on the top of the unit, too? "BT Inside".
Why stop with just the main unit?



Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMcCoy Avatar
95 months ago
EE is not a brand of BT!
It is, I'm afraid.

BT bought EE in January 2016.

They kept the 'EE' name and branding for the cellular service, but integrated the core business operations into BT.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
frou Avatar
95 months ago
Let's please not start pre-loading 3rd party apps onto iOS devices.
How about a nice metallic sticker on the top of the unit, too? "BT Inside".
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
95 months ago
This is how AppleTV grows out of its niche market. Steve Jobs once said that it’s impossible to compete directly with cable providers because when you sign up for cable, they give you a free box so most people aren’t going to go out and buy another box.

The solution there is to make AppleTV the box cable companies give you. Apple should be partnering with more cable companies.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
95 months ago
Great. Wish US pay TV providers would do this. But they make too much money on their power sucking set top boxes.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)