There’s much to chew on in this Bezos v. Jobs article, including the theme we hit on earlier this week — the importance of leadership. But I was once again fascinated by the way forces outside the control of the innovator can determine the fate of an innovation. Thus:

Tim Cook has no idea how to move forward with Apple TV. On Thursday, Bloomberg, for all intents and purposes, confirmed my speculation.

It reports that, while it might have the design down, Apple can’t seem to get anywhere with the old-guard media on content and delivery.

Simply put, television executives saw what happened with iTunes. They’re not about to end up like the music industry.

With Jobs at the negotiating table, Apple might have had a fighting chance. Under Cook, it’s left with a downright pathetic decision to make: Do we produce a glorified DVR player or continue to delay this product?