Chip-maker Intel plans to venture into the world of Internet TV sometime this year. As Time explains, the company wants to offer “curated” packages of TV channels that would be streamed over the Internet. The packages would be smaller than the typical ones offered by cable and satellite companies, and thus more easily customized, but they might not be any cheaper. Company employees already are testing set-top boxes. Intriguing, maybe, but not all media executives are sold. “The chance that Intel launches is zero,” one tells Reuters. “They haven’t cut any deals with any content companies, and they are not offering something that differentiates itself enough on service or price to get the deals done.” The Verge, meanwhile, notes an interesting facet: “The hardware will also include a camera—which can be turned off—that will apparently watch users as they watch TV (including, possibly, for targeting ads).”
