The television and the Internet were likely to remain separate for some time, said Steve Jobs, chief executive officer of U. S. technology innovator Apple Co.

The Apple Insider reported on Wednesday that Jobs said at the All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., "The only way that's ever going to change is if you can really go back to square one, tear up the set top box, redesign it from scratch . and get it to consumers in a way that they're willing to pay for it."

Jobs also said that the problem with combining Internet functions with television services starts with the basic pricing for set boxes.

It was further elaborated by Jobs that currently, cable companies subsidize the cost of set top boxes in order to secure a customer's cable service contract. As such, "that pretty much squashes opportunity for innovation, because nobody's willing to buy a set top box."

Taking a jab at Google, which recently announced it would provide televisions, usually the largest screen in the house, with Internet capabilities, he said, "Ask Tivo, ask Replay TV, ask Roku, ask Vudu, ask us, ask Google in a few months."

He further said, "It's not a problem with technology, not a problem with vision, it's a fundamental go to market problem." (With Inputs from Agencies)