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This week:  Apple makes a major play to become the next HBO, meanwhile, intriguing new images surface showing what looks to be what we all thought had died—the long lost Apple Television.  Plus: a trusted source says Apple’s next Watch will be more boring that we hoped; and finally… eating bugs… Thai Tinder… yes, Buster Heine is back to share strange stories from his travels deep into the heart of Thailand.   This episode supported by   Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com.  Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.   CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST20 to score a free CleanCloth AND get 20% off your order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com for the great music you hear on today's show.   On the show this week @erfon / @bst3r / Buster on Instagram   Blurry photos purport to show mythical Apple TV set https://www.cultofmac.com/497858/blurry-photos-apple-tv-set/

• Blurry images that popped up online supposedly show the testing of an Apple OLED television set of around 60 inches in size. The photos were shared on Chinese social media before being circulated by mobile leaker Benjamin Geskin on Twitter.
• images depict what looks like an Apple-branded standalone display in some kind of lab testing environment. They show a metal frame design, while accompanying notes on Weibo suggest that the set also includes a camera.
• And, just like that, longstanding rumors of an Apple TV set reignite!
• The rumors gained momentum with the publishing of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography in 2011. “I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,” Jobs was quoted as saying. “It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine.”

  Apple will throw $1 billion at original programming over next year https://www.cultofmac.com/497846/apple-will-throw-1-billion-original-programming-next-year/

• According to the WSJ, Apple is reportedly preparing a $1 billion “war chest” which it will spend on acquiring or producing original content over the next year.
• That sum is around half of what HBO spent on production last year.
• Apple SVP Eddy Cue is reportedly aiming for Apple to offer up to ten new shows, which could rival Game of Thrones in scope.
• Apple has been ramping up its hirings to try and establish itself as a force to be reckoned with. The company’s recent hirings include a pair of former Sony execs, who previously helped bring to the screen shows including AMC’s Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and Netflix’s The Crown
• WSJ: "Mr. Van Amburg and Mr. Erlicht have begun meeting with Hollywood agents and holding discussions about shows Apple could acquire, the people familiar said. Mr. Matt Cherniss has movie experience, having worked as a production executive at Warner Bros."

  Apple Watch Series 3 will bring LTE but no design changes