We all know well that the cause of delay in the launch of next Apple TV is the fact that Apple wants to bring both online media as well as cable content to the set top box, and the talks of partnerships in this regard weren’t reaching anywhere.

Many believe, the merging of cable programs into online streams is what Steve Jobs meant when he said that he “finally cracked” the code for the ultimate television experience. Though we, cord cutting fans, would love such a set up on Apple TV, this seems to be almost impossible to achieve, as cable providers refuse to give up their monopoly over television screens.

But this may change soon.

FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler proposed a rule change by which cable companies would be mandated to open their content for sale and share it with any company that wants to be a TV provider. Wheeler says that a similar action in 1992 is what lead to the flourish of satellite providers and that the current situation demand such a rule change.

This would make all the contents available to every provider, resulting in more competitive rates and services. Also this, Wheeler hopes, would result in internet services offering small bundles of content (instead of a fixed subscription charge), so that users can view and pay for only the channels they like.

However, simple it might sound, getting this rule approved is a huge hurdle before Wheeler. It is too early to smile as this proposition is bound to attract strong opposition from cable providers.

Anyway, if such a law comes into being, users will no longer need multiple subscriptions and cumbersome login procedures to enjoy the content they love.

Besides, this will be the nitrous for internet streaming devices like Apple TV, which would be able to boast all your favorite shows ready to be streamed with just a click.

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Just a  week after getting added to the WatchESPN iOS app, the SEC and Longhorn programmes are now available on the Apple TV channel too. Both streams deal with college sports and should enable students to follow their teams’ games via Apple TV.

SEC content on WatchESPN is a result of the quite recent partnership between SouthEastern Conference Network and ESPN, which will be covering over 1000 games each year in 21 of their sporting events. The content is distributed as SEC Network which is the same stream as their television channel and the SEC Network+ which features extra content.

SEC Network + — exclusively available on SECNetwork.com and via WatchESPN — will add live and on-demand coverage of more than 550 digital-exclusive sporting events to the SEC Network multi-screen output in the first year. Ranging across multiple sports from all member schools, SEC Network + events will all be high-quality, multi-camera productions – enabled by extensive new technological and production capabilities built out by ESPN and SEC schools in support of the SEC Network launch.

Longhorn Network has been around for about 4 years now and deals exclusively with broadcasts of University of Texas athletic meets.

The Longhorn Network features events from 20 different sports involving the Texas Longhorns athletics department, along with original and historical programming. The network also features academic and cultural content from the UT Austin campus.

However cord-cutters won’t be able to enjoy these programmes as both SEC and Longhorn require you to sign in via a supported cable subscription accounts.

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Users turning on their Apple TV today will be surprised by an increase in the number of channels clashing it up on their big screens. That’s because Apple TV just gained four new channels – ABC News, PBS Kids, AOL On & Willow TV, and a redesigned Flickr channel.

ABC News is probably the most important addition here. Users can access all the content available at ABCnews.com via this app, including 24/7 live and on-demand content, hourly video updates, local content from 9 stations, their original video series, Editor-chosen special stories and ABS News archives. Unlike Watch ABC which requires you to sign in with a cable provider account for access, the ABC News contents are available to all for free. However, the channel currently seems to be not functioning properly, at least for me.

“Immediate Access to Live & On-Demand Video Content, Entertainment News, Live Hourly Updates, Original Programming and Video Highlights from “Good Morning America,” “World News,” “Nightline,” “20/20” and “This Week” 24/7”

PBS Kids now becomes the second channel from PBS to appear on Apple TV and provides access to the child-oriented and educational programmes from the network. Like ABC News, this one doesn’t require an active cable connection to enjoy. However it does require a free online activation, which can be completed by following a few simple on-screen instructions.

AOL On is somewhat like an Apple TV Client for their website where all the AOL content including sports, news and AOL original shows are available.

Willow TV brings the coverage of Cricket Matches to the United States and Canada on Apple TV, including streaming of live matches (IPL too), VOD Replays of games and also the highlights of past games. However it requires an active subscription for $15/month.

Flickr channel has gained a new sparkly icon and an internal redesign. Now you have a beautiful home screen to Explore popular photos, a better Search and a “Your Flickr” tab to view your photos.

Suddenly, you have a lot more to watch on Apple TV! But if any of these channels seem useless to you and is just adding to the clutter, be sure to follow our guides on How to easily hide unwanted channel icons on Apple TV and How to arrange and hide icons on Apple TV.

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

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I woke up this morning to the news of two major content additions to Apple TV. This has been a routine lately but the difference here is that neither of these adds a new channel icon to the home screen, but instead streams within existing apps. Thank God they do!

First and the more exiting one is that The Oscars will be available for live stream first time ever. Yep! ABC is bringing live telecast of the Academy Awards night and the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Oscars‘ show to the Watch ABC channel on Apple TV and the corresponding iOS app. But apparently not everyone is entitled to the privilege as they’ve laid down a pretty complex and long list of restrictions on who can access the stream.

The show’s livestream will be available to Watch ABC authenticated users through eight providers: Comcast, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Midcontinent Communications, Verizon FiOS, Google Fiber and AT&T U-verse. The service is available only in ABC’s eight owned-station markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Fresno, Calif.

To know whether you can watch the content or what you need to do the get access, visit this link. However if you can’t get it, a special highlights show ‘Oscars Backstage‘ will be released soon after the event for all users.

Coming to the other half, ESPN has added about 15 Collegiate Sports Conference channels to its WatchESPN channels on Apple TV. Thankfully, these are much less complicated than the former as anyone can follow their favourite College conferences with just a click.

The included channels are America East, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Big West, MEAC, SWAC, CIA, Horizon, MAC, MAAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and Southland.

However analysts are confused to see the ACC Network among these new channels ‘coz this sports streaming giant was rumoured to be in talks with ESPN for a full-fledged dedicated network. Anyway, these channels are planned to cover more than 2000 men’s and women’s events starting with the Basketball tournament.

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