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Apple's plans to take on TV with a gadget capable of showing live TV and on demand shows has been delayed until next year.

Apple engineers working on the gadget has been told not to expect it to launch until 2015.

Cable companies refusing to do deals have been blamed for the constant delays to the product - which co-founder Steve Jobs boasted about before his death.

Apple's current $99 TV box, which the firm revealed today has made it over $1bn

'Those waiting for Apple to start selling its long-discussed, all-in-one box for accessing live and on-demand television are going to have to keep waiting,' technology blog The Information claimed.

'Apple engineers who are working on aspects of the device have been told by their bosses not to expect a launch this year and are working off timelines that assume a launch next year, according to a person familiar with the plans,' it said.

The blog also claims Apple employees have cited cable companies 'dragging their heels' and the pending Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger as reasons the device and accompanying TV service haven't launched.

Earlier this week the firm added two new channels, a CNBC channel with live broadcasts and FOX NOW, the on-demand app for the network that includes episodes of Glee, Family Guy and more.

Both channels need a cable subscription to unlock completely, but offer some content free.

On FOX NOW, for all returning FOX series, full episode are accessible the day after they air with a participating provider credential.

All new series entering their first year offer full episodes are available on an "unlocked" basis for all FOX NOW users, regardless of whether they hold cable or pay TV subscriptions.

Apple sold more than $1 billion of Apple TV set-top boxes in 2013 and is investing heavily in the next generation of products, boss Tim Cook said at the company's annual meeting earlier this year.

The firm is believed to be working on a range of TV sets alongside an improved version of its current $99 TV box.

Future versions are expected to include apps and the ability to watch live TV as well as buy movies and TV shows.

Cook shed some more light on the Apple TV business, which executives have long referred to as a 'hobby' for a company expected to chalk up some $181 billion in sales this fiscal year.

CEO Tim Cook also slammed Android for security problems, and warned short term investor not to buy stock

The $99 Apple TV set-top box, which streams content from Netflix and other video sources to a TV, had racked up $1 billion in sales in the past year, he said.

'It's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days,' Cook said.

Google also has its eye on the TV market, and recently launched the Chromecast, a $39 dongle to give any TV online capabilities

Cook took pot shots at Google, saying that most users of its Android mobile operating system are using older versions, presenting a security threat. In contrast, he said, 89 percent of users of devices based on Apple's iOS operating system have the most recent version of the software.

Previously, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities said that a new Apple TV with motion controls would play a 'key role' for the company this year.

He had predicted that the upgraded hardware would arrive this fall, leveraging the technology Apple acquired from its acquisition of PrimeSense, which also powered the tech behind Microsoft's first-generation Xbox Kinect gaming peripheral.