Report: Apple digital TV guide in the works

Apple is reportedly working on a digital TV guide that will work on its Apple TV box and other Apple devices.

According to a report on tech site Recode, the service will provide universal search across different apps such as Netflix, HBO Now and WatchESPN and offer one-click access to content.

Apple reported to be working on the interface and has been in discussions with programmers about providing metadata for the service.

The news comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month that the introduction of the latest version of Apple TV and its tvOS software last October marked “the foundation” for bigger plans in this space.

Speaking on Apple’s fiscal third quarter earnings call, Cook made reference to a TV-related release “this fall” and said the company is “building the foundation for what we believe can be a broader business over time”.

“I don’t want to be more precise than that, but you shouldn’t look at what’s there today and think we’ve done what we want to do. We’ve built a foundation that we can do something bigger off of,” said Cook on the call.

Speculation has circled for years about Apple’s plans in the TV space, with the firm reportedly suspending plans last year to launch a live, over-the-top TV service after struggling to agree terms with media partners.

Last October, Cook also told delegates at the WSJDLive Conference in Califronia that traditional TV viewing as a “terrible, broken process that none of us like” and said that “TV should be interactive”.