Apple Close To Time Warner Cable Deal, Samsung Picks Up Boxee

Apple is getting close to adding more television content to its Apple TV, as the company is reportedly closing in on a deal with Time Warner Cable to enable access to its cable television service through Apple's set top box. At the same time, (sometimes) Apple rival Samsung has confirmed that it has acquired the set top streaming startup Boxee.

The news of Apple's progress in its negotiations with Time Warner Cable comes from Bloomberg, which got the information from anonymous "people with knowledge of the negotiations." In a few months, according to these sources, the two companies will announce the privately-made agreement.

If the reports of a Time Warner Cable deal are correct, this would be the first time Apple has procured an agreement with a cable company to stream live television channels through its Apple TV set top box. The deal would bring in a huge new selection of television channels and content for Apple TV (though, only for people who already subscribe to Time Warner Cable television services).

This, after Apple announced two weeks ago that the Apple TV would be getting two major streaming entertainment apps: HBO GO and WatchESPN. HBO GO is an app that allows access for HBO (owned by Time Warner) subscribers to popular programming like True Blood, Game of Thrones, and Veep, as well as comedy specials, documentaries, hit movies, sports, and bonus features. WatchESPN is the sport channel's streaming service, with access to ESPN channels and extra programming like highlights and featured Sports Center shorts. At the same time as the HBO and ESPN deals were announced, Apple announced that its new iTunes Radio would stream on Apple TVs.

Despite the addition of those two major services, Apple TV has been behind other streaming set top boxes in its content availability. Roku, a chief competitor of Apple TV, announced it would be working with Time Warner Cable at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. It has since had Time Warner Cable streaming its 300 channels on the Roku starting in March of this year, according to CNET.

Apple, meanwhile has had to piece together content one app at a time, though from a design point of view, this can be an advantage; Given the huge influx of content likely with a Time Warner Cable deal, it will be interesting to see how Apple integrates so many channels into the seamless whole that Apple likes to meld its products into.

Apple is looking likely to continue adding content to the Apple TV, given one of its most recent high-profile hires. Former Hulu executive Pete Distad was hired around the same time as Paul Deneve, reportedly to help Apple negotiate with cable providers and other media companies to continue to expand the lineup of content available on the Apple TV.

At the same time as Apple seems to be making new moves towards an improved set top streaming box, Samsung Electronics confirmed with the New York Times that it had acquired the assets and employees of Boxee.

Boxee is an upstart set top box that offers free channel listings, some free live TV content from broadcasters, and streaming music, movies, TV, and recorded DVR programs on televisions and mobile devices. There's no confirmation on how much Samsung paid for Boxee, but the Irsaeli site The Marker broke the story, putting the figure at $30 million.

"Samsung has acquired key talent and assets from Boxee," a Samsung spokeswoman said in a statement to the Times. "This will help us continue to improve the overall user experience across our connected devices."

Though Apple and Samsung have continuously butted heads over some Samsung Galaxy products, the two companies also have collaborated before. However, it seems like, for now, when it comes to set top streaming boxes, let the Apple/Samsung rivalry resume!