Apple plans to use Siri as the primary interface of an upcoming HDTV set, according to a new report. Citing various sources, the New York Times reports that such integration would allow Apple’s TV to bypass the traditional remote control, allowing users to request specific programming—be it on traditional cable or Internet-based content sources such as iTunes, Netflix, or YouTube—and allow the TV set to find it for them, without the need for navigating through channels or directories of content. “Absolutely, it is a guaranteed product for Apple,” one of the sources told the NYT. “Steve thinks the industry is totally broken.” According to the report, which claims Apple still has “quite a bit of work to do” on the project, and may also need to wait on large display prices fall, Apple could announce the product as early as late next year, with an official release coming in 2013.

Canada’s largest telecommunications companies are squaring off in a fight about the future of television.

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B-T38.280.210.55%) and BCE Inc. (BCE-T40.610.070.17%) are in talks with Apple Inc. (AAPL-Q468.644.671.01%) to become Canadian launch partners for its much-hyped Apple iTV, a product that has the potential to revolutionize TV viewing by turning conventional televisions into gigantic iPads.

While the iTV product remains cloaked in secrecy, sources say Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has approached Rogers and Bell as it actively pursues partnerships with Canadian carriers.

“They’re not closed to doing it with one [company] or doing it with two,” said one source who is familiar with the talks. “They’re looking for a partner. They’re looking for someone with wireless and broadband capabilities.”

Another source, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Rogers and Bell already have the product in their labs.

All three companies declined comment.

Last month, Apple reported stunning financial results for the quarter ended Dec. 31 – $46.3-billion (U.S.) in revenue and profit of $13.1-billion on the strength of huge sales of the iPhone and iPad. But television remains an area of technology it has yet to conquer, and rumours about Apple’s next big thing centre largely on the concept of a big-screen television that would essentially put a large-screen iPad in living rooms around the world.

The product reportedly integrates Siri, Apple’s voice-recognition software that acts as a personal assistant on the latest iPhone, into television sets to help viewers make programming choices.

Viewers can then control the TV by voice or hand gestures, all from the comfort of a couch. An on-screen keyboard, meanwhile, can also be activated in a similar manner, allowing viewers to surf the web, conduct video chats and use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook – all without any physical interface.

Jeffries analyst Peter Misek said an analysis of Apple’s patents suggests its iTV product will likely be interoperable with mobile devices, while also functioning as a gaming platform.

He notes Apple is in a good position to “leverage” potential partnerships with carriers to gain access to a wide array of content. “We believe it is likely to be offered by AT&T (T-N29.96-0.01-0.03%) and Verizon (VZ-N37.84-0.30-0.79%) in the U.S. and Bell and Rogers in Canada,” he wrote in a research note on Monday.

At first blush, Apple’s initial talks with Rogers and Bell appear to put rival Telus Corp. (T-T56.58-0.25-0.44%) at a competitive disadvantage.

However, sources say Telus is on the brink of unveiling new technology that would give its customers the ability to control its Optik TV product through voice commands and hand gestures. Those new features could be facilitated by existing Xbox 360 hardware and would position Telus to be first out of the gate with such an offering.

Additionally, other imminent enhancements would extend its Optik TV service to computers and tablets over a home WIFI connection and to smartphones on its wireless network.

Broadcasters, meanwhile, are keen to avoid the fate of record labels, which saw their sales drop dramatically when Apple turned its gaze toward the recording industry. By experimenting with Apple’s products now, the content owners can try to position themselves to benefit from the partnership.

Consumers are already moving away from conventional programming to watch shows on their own terms. TiVo released a survey in January that showed 38 per cent of viewers don’t actually watch shows “live,” choosing to record their favourite shows. If you include on-demand services such as Netflix, that drops to 27 per cent.

But both Rogers and Bell are major content holders, which means even if they lose subscribers, they will be able to generate revenue through licensing agreements.

There have been rumors of an actual Apple television ever since Steve Jobs told his biographer that he'd "cracked" the interface problem, but it's never been anywhere close to reality — you can't make a successful TV without actual TV programming, and that getting that programming has usually meant you have to plug in a cable or satellite box. It doesn't matter who builds your TV if you're forced to use Comcast's cable box; you'll never see Apple's interface anyway. (Or Google's, or Microsoft's, or whatever — every company that's tried to attack the TV market by replacing or hacking the cable box has quickly failed, often in spectacular fashion.)

What Apple and the others have really needed is deals with all the TV networks to pipe in their channels directly, but it's never been able to get them — many TV networks are owned by cable companies, and no cable company wants to give up control of that primary interface, where it can bombard you with ads and movie rentals and other crap that makes money while chewing at the fabric of your soul.

But that might all change soon. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler just proposed a rule change that would require cable and broadcast networks to sell their programming to any company that wants to be a TV provider, not just cable or satellite companies. That means Apple could set up an internet TV service and get all the channels it needs to actually replace your cable box — not just a handful of streaming deals like it has now, but a full-on TV package. Microsoft could do the same thing and properly integrate live TV into the next version of the Xbox One, instead of the ill-fated IR blaster hackshipping now. And Google could actually deliver on the promise of Google TV, instead of wiping out so hard it almost crushed Logitech into a fine powder.

A WONKY LEGAL RULE CHANGE THAT COULD HAVE HUGE EFFECTS

This is a wonky legal tweak — Wheeler just wants to expand the definition of "multichannel video programming distributor" so that it's not specifically tied to cable and satellite companies — but it will have huge effects. Allowing tech companies to properly compete against the entrenched interests of cable companies will rapidly improve the quality of our TV experience: we'll see better integration with our other devices, new interface ideas that actually work, and we'll finally finally be able to ditch our gigantic crappy cable boxes.

The new rule isn't a done deal yet; Wheeler just proposed the change today, and there's a lengthy process to go through. But it's an important change to make; TVs haven't meaningfully evolved since the DVR first came out, and it's time to tear down the barriers that have kept the tech industry at bay for so long.

Also, somewhere Gene Munster is doing a happy dance.

ever since Steve Jobs told his biographer that he'd "cracked" the interface problem,