Apple Reportedly Eyes TV Streaming Service for Fall Launch

More and more cord-cutting seems to prove a viable option, especially now that HBO has made the leap to offer its own independent streaming-service, beginning with Apple this spring. Now, a new report suggests Apple will plan its own independent streaming platform for approximately 25 channels, due to become available this fall.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has begun ramping up development of a service to be announced in June, formally debuted in September for availability on Apple’s iOS operating system, including iPhones, iPads and Apple TV boxes. The $30 to $40 service would offer approximately 25 channels, including major broadcast and cable networks like CBS, FOX, ABC, ESPN or FX, though for the moment no NBC channels, given Apple’s current dispute with Comcast.

In addition to the service, WSJ reports that Apple is also looking to incorporate a large on-demand library that would be stored in the “cloud,” though content might prove scarce, given program licensing deals with existing services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. More and more, networks have begun to offer their own independence services as well, CBS, Showtime and NBC providing recent examples, something Apple will likely capitalize on.

We’ll know more if and when Apple decides to formalize its new TV service, but is the this the final blow to the cable model? What else would it take to formally sound the industry’s death knell?