Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said that its television division has turned into a billion dollar business, the Financial Times reported.

Cook gave the revelation at Apple's annual investors meeting in the company's Cupertino, California headquarters. Referring to the TV unit as a hobby, Cook said, "That hobby was over $1bn in revenue last year. It's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days." The declaration provides a clue that Apple could be ramping up its efforts in the TV segment, the report said. 

Apple's TV set-top box had sold for $99 since it was rolled out in 2010. So far, 13 million of these units have already been bought by consumers. The $1 billion revenue that Apple gained from its TV business included the sales of the devices as well as its content. Last year, Apple said that on iTunes, it was able to sell 800,000 TV episodes and 350,000 movies on a daily basis which translates to sales of $3 million per day. Company executives said those who own Apple TV set-top boxes were more inclined to buy content, the report said.

Aside from Apple TV, Cook also told investors at the meeting that they were also pouring money into the development of new products which led to a 32% increase in its research and development expenses in 2013, Reuters reported.

Cook said, "We're working on some things that are extensions of things you can see and some that you can't see." However, Cook said he would rather not reveal the products in its pipeline so that rivals would not know what they are coming up with. "You can see we're getting ripped off left, right and sideways," he added.

Some of the products that industry insiders believe Apple has up its sleeve include a wearable device of some kind, such as a smartwatch, and an innovative TV product that will revolutionize the TV viewing experience, Reuters reported.