Apple Inc. has suspended plans to offer a live Internet-based television service and is instead focusing on being a platform for media companies to sell directly to customers through its App Store, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
While Apple isn't giving up entirely on releasing a live-TV service, its plan to sell a package of 14 or so channels for $30 to $40 a month has run into resistance from media companies that want more money for their programming, said the person, who asked not to be named discussing a prospective product.
That approach may make it harder for new Apple's set-top box, which was released in October, to stand out in an increasingly crowded market where Roku Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. also offer customers the ability to buy subscriptions to television programming.
