CBS Steve Jobs turned down CBS’ offer for TV content, details revealed

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Leslie Moonves, CBS CEO, explained at a recent event how the negotiations between Apple and CBS collapsed. Apparently, Steve Jobs was the one who approached CBS executives in order to get TV content for the planned Apple TV but the network declined the invitation to take part in the project.

As Leslie Moonves detailed at the UCLA Entertainment Symposium this weekend, Steve Jobs pitched an offer for a content streaming based on subscription. The discussions took place a year ago and CBS was asked to provide TV shows, movies and programs to the projected Apple TV. Moonves’ refusal left no room for interpretation. "I told Steve, 'You know more than me about 99 percent of things but I know more about the television business,' " he explained to the audience at the Symposium. CBS CEO was at the time concerned about disrupting the network’s revenue stream. CBS is actually quite active in the digital market, as the tight relationship with Netflix and Amazon proves. The two companies stream CBS content or include CBS programs and films in libraries after agreeing to pay upfront licensing fees.

Analysts believe that there was something else behind CBS’ refusal. Previously, the media suggested that the main reason for which the deal collapsed was a disagreement about the advertisement revenue. However, Lesslie Moonves was reluctant to provide more details on this matter. Steve Jobs on the other hand was very motivated to see the Apple TV project finished at the end of this career. Walter Isaacson wrote in the biography of Apple genius that "he very much wanted to do for television sets what he had done for computers, music players, and phones: make them simple and elegant." After the recent disclosure Leslie Moonves made, many say that Steve Jobs would have found a way to close the deal, if he would have had more time…

By Radu

Source: CBS chief argued, then rejected Apple TV subscription pitch from Steve Jobs