Business

Apple, networks progressing in talks over cable-killer TV app

Where Barry Diller’s Aereo failed, Apple is hoping to succeed.

The Cupertino, Calif., tech firm is making broadcast networks the centerpiece of its cable-killer TV app — and talks with all four networks are rapidly gaining momentum, The Post has learned.

“The platform is ready and it rocks,” said one source.

Apple’s discussions with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox initially foundered over the tech giant’s desire to offer on the soon-to-launch service local live TV feeds streamed on any Apple device, sources said.

But networks don’t control affiliate feeds. So Apple CEO Tim Cook’s team asked the networks to obtain those rights — instead of having Apple chase those rights around the country itself.

Now, it seems, Cook’s strategy is paying off, sources said.

The networks are close to having the right to negotiate with Apple on behalf of their affiliates, the sources added.

Those affiliate groups, which include Tribune and Sinclair, are being told by the networks that if they opt in and offer their feeds, they will be able to share in the added revenue the Apple streaming product will produce, sources tell The Post.

“Apple has a lot of reach and this is a good opportunity,” said one network source.

At CBS, executives are talking to affiliates about conducting Apple negotiations on their behalf, one TV source confirmed.

At Fox, the network “has the ability to negotiate with Apple [for affiliates], or it will have it very soon,” a second executive added.

Disney or CBS will likely sign the first deal with Apple to get the so-called skinny bundle off the ground — though a host of other hurdles remain, the sources suggest.

One of those obstacles could be Apple’s insistence that TV partners give up 30 percent of the subscription fee if users buy it in the App Store.

“That’s still a negotiation,” said one source, hinting that networks might vie to grab a larger slice of the pie.

Others may push to include their cable channels in the product.

Apple has not yet decided on how much it will charge for its streaming TV service. Industry sources have heard estimates ranging from $10 to $40 a month.

Dish’s Sling — an online-only TV package — is $20 per month, while Sony PlayStation Vue’s tiered bundles cost $50 to $70 a month.

Network discussions with Apple over compensation are complicated by the industry’s “most favored nation” deals, which state they can’t charge some distributors less than others.

Cable channels, including Discovery, will likely be part of the package — as will ESPN, if Apple gets its way, sources said.

Apple wants to launch the as-yet-unnamed product as soon as the late fall, sources said.

Last week, Cook and his top media negotiator, Eddy Cue, were spotted at Allen & Co.’s mogulfest, at the famed Sun Valley duck pond, chatting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Bob Kraft — leading to speculation over whether Apple is brewing an NFL offering.

“The theory is that it could have been staging to give TV executives the shivers,” joked one executive.

Apple declined comment.