• MediaMemo et al., Tuesday, November 3, 2009 1:36 PM

It looks like Apple's making yet another and more aggressive go at Web TV, this time by extending its iTunes software with a $30-a-month subscription service. Riding "over the top" of existing infrastructure, the yet-to-be-announced service could potentially rival those offered by cable TV operators. But will content providers play along, and is this enough for Apple TV -- which has so far failed to excite many consumers -- to finally take off?

In its favor, writes MediaMemo (which broke the news), the new Apple television service would likely be an extension of its iTunes software, rather than tied to a device like Apple TV.

"Apple rumors swirl practically every week, but there's rarely one that's as potentially game-changing as this one," writes Fast Company. "According to insiders, the company's aiming to cut out the cable TV middle man, and serve up network TV to as many as 65 million users via iTunes."

Under the inauspicious headline, "Apple To Reinvent Apple TV... For The Rest Of Us," BusinessWeek's Byte of the Apple blog writes, "We've heard these rumors before -- but that doesn't mean they're not true ... And the approach makes sense ... It would give consumers more of what they really want -- a lower bill, anywhere access, without having to buy another gizmo."

Yet, despite the likely cooperation of Disney early on, the success of Apple TV is "a big if," writes MediaMemo, in large part because of the reluctance of potential content providers.

"Don't hold your breath on it happening yet," writes Gizmodo. "A lot of it has to do with the icky, sticky relationships between networks and cable operators, where everybody's worried about losing out as people start to watch more and more TV content online, not in their living room -- where streaming video eats up bandwidth, and advertising revenues aren't nearly as rich (which is why Hulu wants to figure out new ways to get you to pay)."

"But don't write off the idea altogether, either," writes Forbes' Tidbits blog. "Media industry executives will eventually have to get over their fears of 'over the top.'"

Read the whole story at MediaMemo et al. »