According to a report from AllThingsD, Apple will hold a small-scale press event in New York City at the end of January, focused on an important "media-related" announcement.
According to the site's unnamed sources, the announcement won't involve anything the two major projects Apple is expected to reveal in 2012, the iPad 3 and reimagined Apple TV are out. Apple's Senior VP of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, is rumored to be heavily involved, meaning the news is likely centered around one of Apple's many services.
Cue is the man in charge of iTunes and the App Store (among other services) meaning the announcement might signal a shift in the way Apple delivers apps and other content, whether in terms of their publishing program or their various advertising initiatives.
Given the phenomenal success Apple's iOS devices have seen as gaming platforms, there's a good chance that the news could involve an expansion or significant change to the company's role as a game publisher. Only time will tell.