On Wednesday, news broke that Apple planned to unveil a new version of its Apple TV set-top box by April, potentially marking the company's first big new product of the year.
The report, which came from Bloomberg, noted that Apple was in talks with Time Warner Cable to supply video content before launching the product towards the end of this year. That deal, if finalized, would be Apple's first TV content deal with a cable provider and perhaps a step towards a larger effort in the television space.
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Less than 12 hours later, another report stated that Comcast had reached an agreement to merge with Time Warner Cable in a $45 billion deal. The proposed deal, which has since been officially announced by the two companies, may throw a wrench in Apple's TV plans.
"If there isn't already a deal just about to be inked with Apple, then you can bet that Comcast is going to slow down the Apple deal," says James McQuivey, principal analyst with Forrester Research, about the rumored talks between Apple and Time Warner Cable.
At the very least, McQuivey says, Comcast will want to better understand the terms of the deal "to make sure they know what cards they have before they're played." More so, however, Comcast has ambitions of its own that may be at odds with an Apple partnership.
Comcast has invested in a set-top box of its own, called the X1, with features similar to Apple TV and competitors like Roku.
"Comcast is going to become a type of quasi-competitor to Apple," McQuivey says. "Comcast is trying to get into your whole digital life, which is territory that Apple has done a good job claiming." Just because two companies compete in certain areas doesn't mean they can't work together, but McQuivey expects "it will take awhile" for the two companies to recalibrate their relationship.
The merger approval process for Comcast and Time Warner may only delay matters further. Many expect the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department to heavily scrutinize the deal before approving it.
Apple certainly isn't the only company that may have a headache because of the Comcast deal, but the news comes at a tricky time for Apple in particular.
"The last five years have been nothing but setbacks [for Apple TV]," McQuivey says. "If this stretches it out another year, the only reason that becomes urgent is because Netflix is ballooning and Chromecast appears to be coming in from way down underneath."
"Comcast's situation complicates Apple's efforts, which have already been pretty complicated," he adds.
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