Will Apple take on the big cable companies? It has all the pieces, all it needs to do now is put them together.

TV Shows

Apple currently has 80% of primetime shows available for purchase on its store. The current price is $2 per episode or about $35 for a season. There are also specialty deals for things like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which cost $10 for 16 new episodes.

Movies

Apple launched movies later and so far is only getting lukewarm support from Hollywood. But it's still trying, and pressure will only increase on the studios to let Apple sell new releases. In the long run, Apple is working to boast an online library similar to Netflix, sold for $9.99 a pop.

Podcasts

Podcasts used to be for geeks and amateurs only, but they've come a long way in a few short years. This is due in no small part to Apple's full embrace of audio and video podcasts, and they clearly consider much of the content to be high enough quality to have its own entries in the iPod and Apple TV interfaces.

And Music, Of Course

Because of the iPod, Apple owns the market for digital music, both in marketshare and in mindshare, for every demographic.

iPod or Apple TV, Your Choice

Not only is Apple working to get a lock on all audio and video content in their store, they also sell the most successful players for audio and video. They hope to re-create this success into the living room with the Apple TV.

Tying It All Together

Now all Apple has to do is sell subscription access to their vast libraries of content and they can replace cable and satellite radio entirely. Imagine being able to play any song in Apple's iTunes catalog, unlimited, for $15 per month. Or imagine being allowed access to any television show or movie that Apple sells for $40 per month.

It makes traditional cable and radio seem quaint, doesn't it? Apple can launch the first 100% on-demand media service. They may even pull it off.