Intel ‘offering premium, but yet to secure content for TV service’

Intel is reportedly offering a premium of up to 75% over standard cable rates to secure content for its planned pay TV service, but has yet to close a deal with any major content provider.

According to a Reuters report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the talks, Intel is offering considerably more than standard US cable rates to secure programming and has reached agreement over some aspects of how content would be distributed on its service with CBS, News Corp and Viacom.

The chipset giant is also in talks with Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, but at a less advanced stage, according to Reuters.

According to the sources, Intel has upped its offer significantly since negotiations began and is offering a premium of between 50-75%. With its service yet to launch, Intel would expect to pay a premium per-subscriber rate to secure deals with the studios.

Intel has said it plans to provide a more flexible way of consuming content via its service. Head of media Erik Huggers told an AllThingsDigital event in February that he was confident the company would be in a position to launch a service this year.