Macworld:

During Apple’s third-quarter earnings call last week, Tim Cook teased a future for Apple TV beyond voice-controlled viewing and simplified sign-ins: “You shouldn’t look at what’s there today and think we’ve done what we want to do,” he said. “We’ve built a foundation that we think we can do something bigger off of.”

And:

The FCC recently took aim at DVR lock-in, proposing that operators deliver their service to any device using any open standard, not just the standard coaxial hookup.

If it becomes a mandate, it would allow Apple TV to become the primary box in our living rooms. It’s a move that would elevate Apple TV without the complexity and cost of negotiating a deal to sell “skinny” channel bundles. The beauty of Apple TV is its interface, and with tvOS powering the grid, there would no longer be a need to have a separate DVR and set-top streamer, putting Apple TV at the center of our home theaters.

This has got to be terrifying to the carriers. Imagine if Google Fibre got enough traction that there was real competition in the net connection marketplace. And then imagine if Apple TV offered an option that was cheaper than cable.

There’s the rub, though. Can Apple bring a package of premium services (HBO, Showtime, etc.) at a lower price than Comcast, Verizon, et al.