Apple to Delay Launch of Online TV Service to Next Year: Report

The company had planned to introduce the service, which is delivered over the Internet, this year.

Discussions with broadcasters such as CBS and Twenty-First Century Fox to licence programming are progressing slowly, and lack of content has led Apple to scrap plans to announce the service at a September 9 event, Bloomberg said.

Apple also lacked the computer network capacity to ensure a good viewing experience, Bloomberg said.

Apple was aiming to price the new service at about $30 to $40 a month, media reports have said. Apple and Comcast were reportedly in early-stage discussions last year to offer a streaming-television service that would allow Apple set-top boxes to bypass congestion on the web.

The company still plans to introduce a more powerful version of its Apple TV set-top box at the event, which will be held in San Francisco, alongside the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus smartphone models.

Based on previous reports, the new Apple TV is said to feature a slimmer chassis, a "drastically improved" remote with touch-pad input, increased on-board storage, and an operating system that supports Siri.

Earlier this week, Apple began contacting select customers who purchased the third-generation Apple TV to inform them about a faulty part. The company is offering a free exchange to the affected customers, shipping them brand new units.

Written with inputs from Reuters