Apple TV to get subscription service?

Apple TV to get subscription service?
Rentals incoming for Apple TV

Apple is looking into adding some sort of subscription to Apple TV, in a bid to bring more premium content to the service.

This is according to the Wall Street Journal, which has been speaking to undisclosed sources at Apple about what will be the next big move for the electronics giant now that Steve Jobs is no longer at the helm.

Buried in a piece about the future of Apple, the WSJ explained that some sort of subscription is on the cards for Apple TV, noting: "Apple is working on new technology to deliver video to televisions, and has been discussing whether to try to launch a subscription TV service."

Television vision

A subscription of some sort makes sense. Apple already allows TV rentals in iTunes so if this was to come to Apple TV it would make it a much more enticing offer for those who are already linked into the Apple eco-system.

With the news this week that Google is set to unveil Google TV in the UK, Apple knows that it needs to work fast to get a USP for its service – and offering premium TV rentals through Apple TV would definitely turn heads.

The problem is that Apple already tried to do this back in 2009 but was scuppered by television companies which couldn't agree on rights.

It will be interesting to see how good Tim Cook's negotiation skills are for getting the majors on board – it may well be his first big test.

Via T3 and The Next Web

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.