Leading Apple analysts Gene Munster has renewed his claim that apple will move into the TV manufacturing business – and will succeed in the space in 2012. He sees an iCloud move into video, relevant patent work, and – most interestingly – likely enthusiasm in the app community for building TV-related apps.  Fortune has the related patent here.  Look for the beginnings of an acknowledgement on the July 19 earnings call, along with confirmation of the September iPhone 5.

After spending the past few days speaking in the Netherlands about future business models for digital media, interesting to see the inevitable start of stories regarding NFLX’s plans for Europe here. The massive growth of Netflix market cap is predicated on this type of expansion; fascinating issue will be whether new subscriber revenue, even with Canada plus the EU or Latin America, will outrun expanding content costs as major media companies raise rights costs. This is more a factor than ever now that major content providers Time Warner (via HBO Go) and the NBCUniversal family (via Comcast’s XFinity) have their own streaming services to feed.

On the heels of Comcast fast-tracking its iPad guide app last year – shown here at the Cable Show – Comcast announced today that it will stream live TV to tablets.  not clear yet whether this offensive (to maintain value to subs) and defensive (to compete with Netflix, Apple and other OTT providers) will happen soon or is just planting a flag for CES.  Hopefully there will be a demo at the show.

Speculation continues that Netflix is pursuing an acquisition of STARZ from Liberty. This would certainly create a tremendous wave for HBO and Showtime (and their parents Time Warner and Viacom, respectively) on the one hand, and cable/satellite distributors on the other. The sticking point is likely to be how receptive John Malone’s Liberty would be to any stock component, given the huge run up of NFLX and the comments of major media figures (notable Jeff Bewkes) skepticism re Netflix getting content in the future as cheaply as it has in the past.

In a recent interview, Liberty CEO John Maffei addressed the issue by mentioning that Netflix had a higher market cap than DISH Networks -– a situation both he and DISH CEO Charlie Ergen found “odd”.

By now, news that Peter Chernin will resign his post as COO of News Corp when his contract expires in June 30 is widely circulated. His departure was widely anticipated some years ago, when it appeared he might bolt for Disney pre-Iger, and  was foreshadowed by Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff’s post last week.  Chernin is a smart and gentlemanly guy and it will be interesting to see what he does next.