iPads and iPhones as "Cable Boxes"?

Apple Inc. is weighing an expansion of its AirPlay audio service to include streaming video from an iPhone or iPad to television sets, according to a Bloomberg report.

Under the plan, Apple would license its "AirPlay" software to consumer-electronics makers that could use it in devices for streaming movies, TV shows and other video content, Bloomberg reports.

So that would, theoretically, make an iPad or iPhone the equivalent of a cable TV, satellite TV or telco TV set-top box, for purposes of conditional access. So if you are a content executive, and you are evaluating the potential role of direct-to-consumer video, and you think you can add this feature without cannibalizing existing cable, satellite and telco TV revenue streams, you have a consumer-provided conditional access terminal, and the functional equivalent of the "remote control," ready to go.

Most executives are far from concluding that sort of over-the-top, direct to consumer service is worth the risk. But the supporting infrastructure to do so keeps getting better. Sooner or later, that will make a difference.

Apple Is Said to Weigh Expanding AirPlay for Streaming Video on Devices - Bloomberg