Complex programme rights and high costs slow down Apple TV

New York

NEVER let it be said that Apple releases products quietly. In an event last week that lasted over two hours, the Silicon Valley giant unveiled new iPhones, a large new iPad and - for the fashionable among us - nice new bands for the Apple Watch.

But a new beefed-up version of the Apple TV device, not all that long ago deemed a hobby for Apple by its executives, received much of the pre and post-event publicity.

Still, for all the changes to Apple TV, one component still missing was a hoped-for bundle of television programmes. So what happened?

Blame a combination of complexity and cost.

"Television broadcast and digital rights are incredibly complicated, especially when you get into international rights," said Dan Cryan, senior director of media and content at IHS Technol…