Apple allegedly keeping 'close eye' on possible sale of Time Warner, with streaming TV in mind
Apple is paying close attention to the possibility of Time Warner -- or parts of it -- going up for sale, potentially with the intent of buying assets to help launch a streaming TV service, according to rumors.

TW is thought to be a "sitting duck" for buyouts because it doesn't have a dual-class shareholder structure, and its shares are valued well below an $85 offer from 21st Century Fox that was rejected a year and a half ago, the New York Post said. Sources told the paper that aside from Apple, AT&T and Fox are also interested in TW.
Apple's head of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue -- generally responsible for content deals -- has specifically been keeping a watch on TW, according to one of the sources, described as close to Apple.
The Post speculated that Apple's interest is in the broad swaths of content TW would give it instantly, including Turner Sports, CNN news, popular HBO shows like Game of Thrones, and Warner Bros. movies and TV shows. First-party content would be advantageous to Apple, especially since talks for a streaming TV service reportedly fell apart due to resistance to a "skinny" channel bundle costing less than $30 per month. With TW in tow, a streaming TV service wouldn't need many outside deals, and Apple could more easily dictate pricing.
In practice, Apple is unlikely to want to take over TW in whole or in part, since that would require getting involved in businesses Apple has previously expressed no interest in.
Rumors have claimed that Apple might be interested in producing original programming, much like Netflix, but through recruiting and partnerships rather than buyouts. Cue dodged the topic in an October interview.
"We love working with our partners. We're great at technology, and they're great at creating content, and we think that's a great partnership to have," he said.

TW is thought to be a "sitting duck" for buyouts because it doesn't have a dual-class shareholder structure, and its shares are valued well below an $85 offer from 21st Century Fox that was rejected a year and a half ago, the New York Post said. Sources told the paper that aside from Apple, AT&T and Fox are also interested in TW.
Apple's head of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue -- generally responsible for content deals -- has specifically been keeping a watch on TW, according to one of the sources, described as close to Apple.
The Post speculated that Apple's interest is in the broad swaths of content TW would give it instantly, including Turner Sports, CNN news, popular HBO shows like Game of Thrones, and Warner Bros. movies and TV shows. First-party content would be advantageous to Apple, especially since talks for a streaming TV service reportedly fell apart due to resistance to a "skinny" channel bundle costing less than $30 per month. With TW in tow, a streaming TV service wouldn't need many outside deals, and Apple could more easily dictate pricing.
In practice, Apple is unlikely to want to take over TW in whole or in part, since that would require getting involved in businesses Apple has previously expressed no interest in.
Rumors have claimed that Apple might be interested in producing original programming, much like Netflix, but through recruiting and partnerships rather than buyouts. Cue dodged the topic in an October interview.
"We love working with our partners. We're great at technology, and they're great at creating content, and we think that's a great partnership to have," he said.
Comments
Say Apple sells you a new iPhone in 2013. Last year they bought it back from you for $200 and then burn it. This year they sell you another new iPhone for $1000. They didn't just profit another $800 because they bought one back cheap last year. That phone no longer exists so they aren't reselling it.
But yes,absolutely Apple could and I agree probably would use stock in the purchase. That's of course if they were purchasing in the first place. It depends on how valuable media is to Apple. If would be a significant change from their general reliance on hardware as the source of revenue with services as mostly a supporting afterthought.
I'm not sure I buy this. Apple doesn't know anything about running cable properties. And it's not like Eddy Cue's org is firing on all cylinders. Heck just this week Apple admitted they didn't know how many people were using their news app and were providing inaccurate data to publishers. iTunes needs a lot of work and Apple Music has plenty of its own issues. My concern is too many "analysts" seem to be in a panic of over Apple and silly season is ensuing. So last week Jim Cramer was screaming that Apple needed to buy Fitbit and Harmon and Verifone. Now this week he says Apple needs to create a $199 fitness band with Nike. I hope to god Tim Cook isn't listening to these clowns that are looking for some quick fix because the stock hasn't been doing well.
That's great for Apple customers based in the USA. What about international? It's no secret that the majority of Apple's revenues are international. How does Apple deal with international TV right issues? Buying up cable companies worldwide becomes pretty damn expensive.
edit: This doesn't say what will happen to shares, but it does mention that the buyback program will help when it comes to employee equity grants, which are usually stock options. That isn't in any way conclusive as it just means that the buyback is being done to help with the dilution of more shares.
They do. But they don't have to spend $70B on an old media company to do it. It seems to me some are freaking out over iPhone sales and are now in a rush to find Apple new revenue streams. CNBC spent all of one minute on this story this morning. It's not being taken seriously.