Intel's plan to launch an internet TV platform is progressing, as the company attempts to nail down content deals from major media companies. A report from Reuters cites anonymous sources as saying that CBS, News Corp., and Viacom have reached agreements on how their content will be distributed on the platform, although no firm programming deals have been signed. NBC Universal is also in talks with Intel, but those talks are reportedly less advanced than others.

Intel is offering to overpay by as much as 75 percent for content

According to Reuters, Intel has increased its subscriber fee (the rate it pays companies per subscriber) offer significantly since negotiations first began. The company is now proposing to pay "as much as 75 percent more" than the rates cable companies pay for the same content. An insider notes that "Intel needs deals with the top five or six US media companies to secure most of the popular TV channels," and has "suggested preventing viewers from skipping commercials on the first run of a show" as a way to lure content companies to its service.

Intel's set-top box will take on existing internet TV platforms like Roku, Apple TV, and Google TV, along with Microsoft's entertainment-focused Xbox One, and many other systems. Intel general manager Erik Huggers said in February that the service "will have live television, catch-up television, on-demand, [and] a set of applications," and also confirmed that the company would offer its own hardware with "beautiful industrial design" and a built-in camera. All of the companies mentioned in Reuters' report refused to comment on their plans for the platform.