Discovery and Viacom in talks to be part of Apple TV service
If you have been wondering what channels might be in the mix for Apple’s rumored new subscription TV offering, more details are starting to emerge. In a report from The Wall Street Journal, sources claim that Discovery and Viacom are in talks with Apple to be included in the service. Since these talks are ongoing, this could mean that channels owned by these media conglomerates would be in addition to the 25-channel bundle that is already rumored to be launching this fall.
Apple has already been talking to Walt Disney, CBS, and Fox, among other media companies for its streaming TV service. The idea behind the service is, according to The Wall Street Journal, to offer consumers a “skinny” bundle with the channels almost everybody knows about while leaving out the smaller networks.
If Discovery and Viacom are added into the bundle, that could bring channels like the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon to Apple TV. This would make the service much more appealing, especially to families with children.
Adding additional channels would also make Apple’s service more likely to succeed. Currently, Sling TV offers live streaming of 17 networks at $20 per month, while Apple is supposedly going to offer 25 networks at $30 to $40 each month. The math just doesn’t add up for the service to be double the cost of Sling TV but only offer eight additional channels.
Apple has been in talks with media companies off and on for years, but nothing ever came of it. Now, though, Apple has gained some momentum by signing a deal to be the exclusive launch partner for HBO Now. There is also a growing popularity for “cord cutting” to move away from the monopoly many cable television providers have in their markets.
