New Apple TV Could Feature Partnership with Comcast

Rumors indicate that Apple might be working with Comcast on a possible streaming service for its upcoming set-top box. 

According to a report from the The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in early talks with Comcast about the development of their latest streaming TV platform, serving as a successor to its current Apple TV. If the alleged deal were to be successful, Comcast would give Apple's service special treatment to free up bandwidth congestion for the device's internet connection.

The next-generation Apple TV could allows users to stream live TV and recorded content through the internet, serving as an alternative to traditional cable. Apple is hoping to strike up a partnership with Comcast in order to ensure that the service maintains a fast, stable connection without bandwidth issues or buffering delays. To achieve this, Comcast would have to separate Apple's service from public internet traffic on the last stretch of the connection chain to their customers.

A potential agreement is still far from a reality, however, as both companies have different ideas about how the theoretical service would operate and how much access Apple would have to Comcast's subscribers. Still, discussions like this continue to reinforce the evolving television/streaming landscape, pointing to potentially big changes in how we receive shows and programming.

Source: The Wall Street Journal via Engadget