Apple is moving forward with its Web TV service as talks with main networks are “rapidly gaining momentum”,  The New York Post reports. According to The Post, Apple is currently in talks with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and it wants to launch the “as-yet-unnamed” service as soon as the late fall.

“The platform is ready and it rocks,” said one source.

Sources say that Apple wants to offer on the service local live TV feeds streamed on any Apple device.

Cable channels, including Discovery, will likely be part of the package as well — “as will ESPN, if Apple gets its way, sources said.”

The price of the service has not yet been decided. According to the “industry sources” it may range from $10 to $40 a month. The Wall Street Journal reported back in March that it will cost $30-$40 a month.

Apple is also expected to launch the next Apple TV model in the fall, with a slimmer profile, new operating system and interface, support for Siri and its own App Store.

Yesterday, Comcast unveiled its live Web TV streaming service called Stream.

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The Apple TV streaming service has been talked about so much in the last 24 hours that it is almost visible on the horizon. In case you missed it, Apple is rumored to be working on their own $30-$40 video service, which is set to be launched somewhere around September.

It seems that Apple is currently in talks with content owners like Fox, ESPN, Disney, CBS and more, to get their programming on board for the streaming service. And according to New York Post, to make dealings go in the right direction, Apple is even promising viewer details like their personal info, watching habits, and locations, to program owners.

The company is willing to share details on who its viewers are, what they watch and when they watch it to entice broadcast networks and others to go along with the service, sources said. [..]

“They’re allowing a lot more decision-making by the content owner,” said one source familiar with the talks, adding that Apple has told potential partners, “It’s up to you, whatever you guys want to do.”

This data will be used by content providers to localize niche audience and better target their ads.

But such a move sounds odd to come from Apple, as they have always upheld user privacy. It is worth noting that other providers like Netflix and Amazon have previously turned down similar requests from content providers, on their corresponding streaming services. This makes it even less likely for Apple to entertain the demand for user data.

If this turns out to be true, it will show how badly Apple wanted their streaming service to get off the ground. But even if Apple caves, the service will probably come with an ‘Opt out’ option, in case you don’t want your watching habits to be tracked.

Read more on the Apple TV Streaming Service and the HBO NOW service which is coming to Apple TV next month.

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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.

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There was one more thing coming at the end of Steve’s show today and this time it was one more HOBBY… The new Apple TV is here! This tiny matte-black box (80% smaller than the previous generation) will stream HD (720p) movies for $4,99 and commercial free TV shows for 99 cents  (ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America are on board;  all rentals, no purchases) and your Netflix content if you are a subscriber. It has HDMI, Ethernet, USB and optical audio ports, Bluetooth and dual band WiFi (802.11 b/g/n at 2.4GHz and 802.11 a/n at 5GHz). There will be no local storage. AirPlay – the new feature that will come with iOS 4.2 in November – will let you to stream movies from any iOS device to your HDTV through the Apple TV. It will be shipping within 4 weeks for the “breakthrough “ price of just $99.

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