Lately, the betting seems to be on Apple making a settopbox that would meld live TV for existing pay-TV subscribers with iTunes content under a more intuitive user interface, but it seems that the TV powers that be are wary even of that small step.
Next: Challenges from cable companies aside, Apple must make a settopbox, and it will be far more important than the actual TV set, says Jeremy Allaire, chairman of the online video services provider Brightcove.