Apple in Talks With Discovery and Viacom Over Streaming TV Service

Discovery and Viacom are in discussions with Apple to be included in its rumored streaming TV service, reports The Wall Street Journal. The partnerships could see mid-tier channels such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon available through the subscription-based service on devices including the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

apple tv
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Apple is planning to launch a streaming TV service anchored by American networks ABC, CBS and Fox. The rumored service would offer a lightweight package of about 25 channels for between $30 to $40 per month. Apple is expected to announce the service at WWDC in June ahead of a September launch, according to the report.

Rumors of Apple working on a streaming TV service have circulated since at least 2009, when it was reported that CBS and Walt Disney were considering participating in the web-based service. Later reports indicated that Apple had ambitious plans to launch the service in the second half of 2012, but those plans have yet to materialize nearly three years later, likely due to roadblocks with content providers.

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...

Top Rated Comments

carjakester Avatar
129 months ago
Apple should be in talks with Apple to make a new Apple TV!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keifer.street Avatar
129 months ago
Same Old Bundle BS - You Pay For What You Don't Watch

How is this rumored streaming Apple service (or others like Sling TV) any different from any other cable company or business models of content providers of the past? "But, but, it's a smaller bundle, so it's cheaper!"

So what?! I ask again, how is this model any different than the past? I thought we were on the eve of an industry revolution, not evolution or a re-hashing of the same thing that consumers clearly DON'T want. Smaller bundles is just more of the same, with more limited networks/content providers.

It's the same 'bundle' model cable companies have had for years that they're holding onto with their cold, dead, out of touch, greedy fingers.
I want ala carte channel subscriptions of live/streaming TV, dammit! Let the free market decide which channels are worth paying for! Stop forcing us to pay for channels that nobody wants to watch! It's madness! All TV customers have been begging... literally BEGGING for this for YEARS.

I will only call it a revolution when I get what I want:
1) I want to pay only for what I actually watch
2) I want to be able to watch whatever I want (meaning I can choose from a wide plethora of content providers), not limited to a select few networks
3) I want to watch whenever I want - I want to be able stream it live or stream it later after it airs. I don't want to have to organize my schedule around what show airs at whatever time. That's just stupid. I also don't want to have to remember to record it on my DVR or worry about running out of hard drive space. That's also stupid. Streaming is the way of the future, baby!
4) I want to be able to watch it on any device

In summary, all networks need to be streamable at any time from any device and no more bundling BS.

Now that would be a game-changer. We'd no longer be stuck in 1970.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TXCherokee Avatar
129 months ago
How is this rumored streaming Apple service (or others like Sling TV) any different from any other cable company or business models of content providers of the past? "But, but, it's a smaller bundle, so it's cheaper!"

So what?! I ask again, how is this model any different than the past? I thought we were on the eve of an industry revolution, not evolution or a re-hashing of the same thing that consumers clearly DON'T want. Smaller bundles is just more of the same, with more limited networks/content providers.

It's the same 'bundle' model cable companies have had for years that they're holding onto with their cold, dead, out of touch, greedy fingers.
I want ala carte channel subscriptions of live/streaming TV, dammit! Let the free market decide which channels are worth paying for! Stop forcing us to pay for channels that nobody wants to watch! It's madness! All TV customers have been begging... literally BEGGING for this for YEARS.

I will only call it a revolution when I get what I want:
1) I want to pay only for what I actually watch
2) I want to be able to watch whatever I want (meaning I can choose from a wide plethora of content providers), not limited to a select few networks
3) I want to watch whenever I want - I want to be able stream it live or stream it later after it airs. I don't want to have to organize my schedule around what show airs at whatever time. That's just stupid. I also don't want to have to remember to record it on my DVR or worry about running out of hard drive space. That's also stupid. Streaming is the way of the future, baby!
4) I want to be able to watch it on any device

In summary, all networks need to be streamable at any time from any device and no more bundling BS.

Now that would be a game-changer. We'd no longer be stuck in 1970.

You can already do all of that. It's called iTunes.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lincolntran Avatar
129 months ago
I'll gladly sign up for Apple service so that I can get rid of those fugly stupid decades old UI from those cable/disk companies. It makes me frustrated every time I have to navigate.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Elbon Avatar
129 months ago
$30 - $40 per month still seems pretty steep to me. I currently have Netflix (which is $8/month) and TiVo (which costs me nothing since I bought the "lifetime" subscription up front and have long-since broken even on that). So I'd struggle to justify paying up to 5 times as much for content that I don't really need. That's why I "cut the cord" to begin with. If this rumored service is also ad-driven, there's even less incentive to subscribe to it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
freediverx Avatar
129 months ago
A bundle of a few networks, many of which I'm not interested in, for $30-$40 is exactly why I dropped cable over 12 years ago.
This does sound promising, but I'm more a fan of the a la carte model - or something like it. Hoping for good things ...
Agreed. Most of these channels contain nothing but garbage, which is a key reason why people are watching less television than ever. Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, and MTV are but a shadow of what they used to be, now containing little more than crap reality shows about rednecks, faux celebrities, ghost hunters, and alien conspiracy nutjobs. Comedy Central might have been nice years ago, but with the departure of Steven Colbert and John Stewart, there won't be much worth watching there.

So what's next for Apple TV... QVC and the Trinity Broadcasting Network?

HBO is the single worthwhile addition.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)