9to5Mac’s Senior Editor, Mark Gurman is riding a high tide now, as most of his predictions regarding the Apple Watch and the new ultra-thin MacBook were proven right. In an interview given to CNBC, Gurman shares his views on where Apple TV is going and the possibility of an Apple television set.

Along with other Apple stuff, the CNBC reporter asked Gurman about his thoughts on the $30 price cut for Apple TV 3 and the 3 month exclusivity of HBO NOW for Apple TV. This is what he had to say:

I think this $69 price point ($30 price drop) is a big deal because it indicates that they try to make room for something. They are trying to sell a lot of these Apple TVs. They are trying to use it as a marketing tool to really allow for customer discovery of these living room solutions. So I think it is a big deal in getting the Apple TV out there.[..]

Even bigger is the HBO exclusivity deal because it represents that the Apple TV with the cable networks and show providers have the technology to do a subscription service without the cable box. And I think HBO is just the first of many.

And I think the overall solution Apple has in the works is just a bunch of different programs and apps, that are not on a pay-per-view subscription but like perhaps a weekly, monthly or yearly plans.

Gurman was also asked about the possibility of a standalone Apple TV set:

I don’t think [Apple TV set] is currently in the works or is currently the plan. I think the plan is to make a groundbreaking new set-top box that really changes the model path of how people get TV. I think more services-backed model is where they are headed instead of screen-based hardware.

I think the next version of Apple TV, in terms of appearance, will look really a lot like the current one. It probably will be thinner, have a larger more tactile remote control. But in terms of a screen-based set, I don’t think that is happening in the near future.

You can catch the whole 5 minute interview here.

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Well your Apple TV home-screen just got a bit more congested today, as two more channels made it to the show. Though a bit late, FOX Now and CNBC are now showing on Apple TV.

CNBC brings all of their business related news and the original Prime series shows to the channel. However you’ll need to sign in with your supported cable subscription account to take full advantage of this. Though a library of videos are available even for non-subscribers, VOD and live streaming are restricted to subscribers of Comcast, AT&T, DirecTV, DISH, Verizon, and more.

FOX Now channel on the other side provides their popular shows like Glee, American Idol, The Following, Family Guy, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, 24: Live Another Day, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project and many others for on-demand streaming. If you’re a subscriber, you can stream episodes right on the day after they’re aired while others will have to wait a whole week to do so.

The FOX Now channel shouldn’t be confused with their FXNow service, about which we discussed a couple of days back. Also TV2 Sumo, the official Apple TV channel for TV2 networks is now available exculsively to Norway users.

If you find your home-screen to be too cluttered and have unused channels, you can follow our guide on How to easily hide unwanted channel icons on Apple TV.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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