Apple's Plans To Revolutionize TV Have Hit A Wall

APApple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple has been planning to introduce a new streaming box for live and on demand content, but those plans have stalled, according to a report from The Information.

Cable companies are "dragging their heels" on Apple's plans to incorporate their content into a set top box and have signaled their apprehension over Apple's ambition for TV, according to the report.

The cable companies and content creators think that Apple doesn't have the licenses to distribute the wide range of content cable companies can provide.

Without help from Comcast and others, Apple's only strategy is to go after content crumbs wherever it can find them. In the meantime, Apple has been adding a lot more channels to the current Apple TV. The company recently added Fox Now and CNBC to Apple TV in a bid to attract new customers while they continue negotiations with major cable companies.

The report from The Information also blames the impending Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger for putting the breaks on Apple's plans to launch a new Apple TV.

In short, Apple's TV ambitions seem to be too lofty for content owners right now.

If negotiations with cable companies continue this way, we may be seeing a lot more one-off updates to Apple TV before Apple truly revolutionizes television.