Pandora tock fell off a cliff Thursday — closing down almost 12 percent — on reports that Apple is on track to launch a free streaming service in the first quarter of 2013.
CNBC first reported in early September that Apple was in talks with the music labels to launch a free, ad-supported streaming music service. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that talks were on track to close at the end of November, with a service launching as early as January.
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Not so fast — on Thursday, my sources told me that those talks are ongoing but that at this point they're not advanced enough for deals to close before December. Therefore, a service probably wouldn't launch until February at the earliest. (Read More: Apple Plans Web Radio Challenge to Pandora.)