Tim Cook: Apple TV did over $1B in ...

At Apple's annual gathering of shareholders, CEO Tim Cook said the product is more than a 'hobby.'

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- While the iPhone and iPad have come to dominate Apple's business, the television has often been relegated to an afterthought for the company. So much for Apple TV being just a hobby, said chief executive Tim Cook.

'That hobby was over a billion dollars of revenue last year,' said Cook, during the company's annual meeting with shareholders. 'It's a little hard to call it a hobby anymore.'

The meeting was originally billed as a showdown between activist investor Carl Icahn and Apple over the company's buyback program. Icahn has been vocal about Apple repurchasing more of its stock. In December, Icahn announced a non-binding proposal for Apple shareholders to vote on a buyback at Friday's meeting.

But Icahn then announced earlier this month that he would pull the proposal, mainly because the Institutional Shareholder Services, a trade organization, urged shareholders to vote against it, and because Apple had increased the volume of its stock repurchasing. After investors were disappointed with first quarter results, Cook announced that the company had bought back $14 billion worth of shares in two weeks. The company is said to be on course to repurchase $32 billion by year's end, just $18 billion off of Icahn's $50 billion sum.

But even without the Icahn drama, the meeting was not without its excitement. A group of Silicon Valley security guards -- including Apple's own -- held a protest at Infinite Loop to coincide with the gathering of the company's shareholders. The protest was just another example of the culture clash engulfing the tech industry in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.

This story is developing. More to come...

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