• by Wayne Friedman , September 27, 2013

Intel Media’s efforts to start up a Web-based TV service by the end of this year are in doubt, according to reports. Intel is looking for a new funding partner for the project and it is talking to Amazon, which has its own subscription video-on-demand service, and Samsung, a maker of new smart TVs, according to All Things D.

Intel hasn’t yet struck a deal with a major TV programmer.

Recently Brian Krzanich, chief executive officer of Intel, said he believed it had great technology at hand for the project but admitted its shortcomings.

“We believe we have a great user interface and the compression-decompression technology is fantastic," Krzanich told Reuters. "But in the end, if we want to provide that service it comes down to content. We are not big content players."

Intel Media has done some testing in Oregon, Northern California and Arizona for its Web-based over-the-top subscription video service, reportedly, called OnCue.

Analysts believe Intel Media’s OnCue would need to be priced at a discount to many OTT and other digital video services currently on the market.

While Apple and others have mused about a similar Web-based TV service, Apple, for one, continues to pursue its set-top-box Apple TV project, and recently added two new channels, Major League Soccer and Disney Junior, to its lineup.