Would You Pay $1 For a TV Show?

[Paul Daniel Ash]

Bolstering persistent indications that Apple will be using the iPad to propel its TV distribution system through iTunes, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Apple would begin offering some TV shows at the cut rate of $0.99 US per episode, down from the $1.99 the company currently charges for TV programs in standard definition video.

The Wall Street Journal said that talks between Apple and TV networks were still ongoing and had not been concluded yet. Many observers were surprised when a rumored $30 subscription service was not announced at the iPad unveiling last month. The service would have offered a "best-of-TV" package to customers for a single flat rate. TV networks, however, were worried that existing relationships and subscription fees from cable companies would be threatened by the arrangement. According to the Financial Times, however, the $1 TV program deal is seen by Apple as a way to make networks comfortable with the idea.

This new price is said to come into effect around the same time as the iPad's launch, probably in late March, as a way of boosting interest in both the new device and drawing attention to Apple's new service. The Financial Times quoted a "person familiar with the talks" as saying the lower prices would be a bid to "ignite the video part of iTunes," which has not brought a great deal of money to Apple as yet. Amazon and Netflix currently offer downloadable TV shows and programs, along with YouTube, and Hulu is in the process of converting from a free service to some kind of paid model, so the idea's time may finally have come. However, Apple may find that it has competition close to home: Hulu is reportedly modifying its site to work on the iPad, which will not support Flash.

Apple officials reportedly told Credit Suisse's Bill Shope in a closed-door session that it was hard to sell TV shows for $2 when people can get whole movies for $1 at Redbox kiosks.

[Cow_King]

thats to much for something your gonna watch one time. maybe pay a fee to download an entire season? or even a rental fee?

I would rather buy the entire season on dvd then put em all onto my phone myself and have dvd's to justify my money spent

[blkcadi]

Been reading about this, exciting, but for me a Buck a show, pricey. You have to really want to watch it for that price.

[adp]

$1 for one show? Are you kidding me? You can rent the entire season in blu-ray for a few more bucks. Come on...

[billmilo]

it's free on TV, so no.

[tudtran]

Maybe. If I can buy the episodes it been air.

[lolcats1]

i am shocked that any of you are even considering this as a valid idea. come on. this is just a ****** way to get around the lack of flash. hulu, and countless other sites let you stream series, legally and slightly less so.

why pay?

"if you can't find it free on the internet, you're not looking hard enough"

[matthew1111]

$1? TV+Recording=Free

[TranceField]

Hmmm is this an early April Fools' joke? You can find many of the shows streaming online for free.

[KartRacer]

$1 per show? Not a chance. A few dollars per season maybe, and they better be in HD. And not what iTunes says HD is, minimum of 720p.


Anybody know of a good piece of hardware that I can record HD shows from my cable box using a component cable? I want to save some various shows like MythBusters, a few documentaries, and some racing. Any ideas?

[k.nitsua]

They are better off selling season passes for $5-$7. I'll pay $5 knowing that I'll have access to the season's current episodes and those yet to air.

Maybe a way for the episodes to automatically download to the iPad when in range of WiFi.

I'm glad Apple is starting to focus on the video aspect of iTunes. I don't even put very many mp3s on my iPhone and mainly put music videos (downloaded off YouTube) - if only I can have the audio of the music videos run in the background as if they were mp3s.

EDIT: Actually, as a staff member of Videoseed.com, I won't really be using this service at all. But if I didn't have videoseed.com, I'd get season passes from iTunes.

[riku98523]

Well I already pay for my newsgroups access (which get me all the TV shows I could ever want anyway) so ... no

[blind56]

$1 for a TV show seems pretty excessive, but compared to what they charge for individual songs, it's cheap. If they were going to charge $1 for TV shows, I sure hope that they drop the price of music to coincide with this.
But like everyone else above has said, why pay for something that you already get for free?

[knowram]

Nope. everything I watch is free on hulu.

[GadgetX]

Am I the only one who would consider paying $1 for a show? I mean I wouldn't pay that on a weekly basis but if I happen to miss an episode I wouldn't mind paying a dollar a few times a month to keep up with my shows. Obviously I would prefer the free route with Hulu but come on.. its $1

Edit: I realize this is pretty contradictory to what I said in the Hulu thread about how a Hulu app would kill Apple sales for tv episodes, but regardless it's $1 thats pretty near free nowadays.

[rhekt]

boy i was thinking quite the opposite... [.99] a show seems reasonable for the service. you can rent a movie at redbox for $1. each show is about an hour long. pretty close to what a movie time is. if your watching every show at this price [i think there are 14-16 episodes] well thats about $14-16. not too bad. i would probably just watch it on hulu for free. but for .99 in a pinch for whatever reason isnt too bad. quit yer BEOtCHin!

^holy SHEIt.. GadgetX just said the same thing. i didnt even -read all of the posts.

[iLaw-One]

I won't pay squat for any sort of tv show, as I already pay more than enough in licenses...and besides, I'm hoping people won't buy the ipad at all so Apple would be forced to slash the price to the equivalent of £100.00!
That would ensure it'll be 'in the hands of everybody'

[CaptainChaos]

No. I will not pay $1 a show. I use netflix and can watch as many episodes/movies as I want for $8.99 a month.

[DrMod]

No sorry.. I already pay for my tv license, and for cable/satellite... I personally dont see why you should pay for something that is freely available on other media...

[Bluprint]

No sorry.. I already pay for my tv license, and for cable/satellite... I personally dont see why you should pay for something that is freely available on other media...

nuff said