Apple Streaming TV Service Faces Delay Over Local Programming Negotiations

Whenever Apple does something, it wants to do it better than the competition, rather than just deliver the bare-minimum to get by. Its upcoming TV service is no exception. Apple certainly won’t be the first to offer such a service when it arrives, and it knows it has to do something special to taste success right out of the gate.

One of its biggest goals is to deliver widespread access to local programming. If successful, Apple would immediately one-up all of the competition, such as Sony and Dish, which have only been able to offer local programming in a handful of cities.

appletv

The problem, not surprisingly, is that dealing with all of the business contracts to make this a reality takes a long time and requires a ton of effort. Part of the problem here is that some broadcasters don't even own all of their local stations, so to say this is a complex process would be an understatement.

All told, this determination to deliver local programming means one thing: Apple's TV service is not likely to launch in the early fall, as the company hoped it'd be able to do. That's unfortunate, but there is something to be said about a company that has such high standards with its products; it's not willing to push one out early and risk not impressing its customers. I wish more companies shared that kind of ethos.