On the eve of what we hope to be Apple’s tablet release, the Financial Times is reporting that the company is unhappy with current TV show sales through iTunes and is pushing to halve the cost in order to spur sales.
In recent months, Apple has suggested during meetings with media executives that the price it charges consumers for TV shows be halved from $1.99 to $1, people close to the discussions said.
Apple’s belief, media executives said, is that drastically cutting prices could spur sales of TV shows on the iTunes digital entertainment storefront, which have so far frustrated Apple executives.
The iTunes Store is not only competing with DVDs, which are priced at nearly half of what a series season pass costs on iTunes, but also with torrent sites, which obviously allow users to download all of the same content for free.
The Financial Times also states that Apple has floated the idea of creating a low-cost video subscription service with News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom, Disney and CBS which would give consumers a sort of “best of” television package that would cost $30 per month. This idea, however, is apparently sinking, as the companies don’t see a need to rival existing pay television services that have been doing just fine over the years.
So what do you think? Would you be more willing to turn to iTunes to purchase your television shows if they were only $1, or even a season pass for $30? Would a tablet have any effect on your iTunes TV show purchasing plans?
At $30 a month, there’s no way I’ll pay for a subscription based service. I’m very interested in dumping cable/satellite but the cost has to be worth it and $30 is not the spot. $20 maybe. I watch very few channels (usually Discovery, Disney, Fox) so if they aren’t in the lineup and the price does not beat the basics of cable/sat, then I’m out.
I want to buy the TV shows as I hate watching things on TV at a specified time, but there are 2 things stopping me.
1. Things in the US re normally released well in advance of the UK
2. iTunes TV shows are generally a rip off (especially for HD content)
I do think the movie rentals are a good price though (remember how much it used to cost at Blockbuster all those years ago? – the same price apple now charges for a rental).
They also need to get HD up to 1080 instead of 720, that is also a rip off as it is not true HD.
Why would anyone want to buy a tv program they can get for free? If there’s something I want to watch I’ll DVR it or see it online… The iTunes video is most likely protected so you wouldn’t watch it where you want to anyway?
I have never even considered buying TV shows on Itunes. With bittorrent sites and ipod format conversion programs there is no need. I would consider getting shows from Itunes(legally) if they had had 1080p for sure but running the 720p downloads through my laptop and television I get a blu ray quality through torrent sites. I dont know if the shows you buy on Itunes have closed caption options because that is an absolute necessity for me. It generally only takes 30 seconds to find subtitles for ones you download online.
Im not even sure I would purchase a season pass for a show at $30 because Blu Ray sets are getting almost that price point if you find deals and sale prices for what you are looking for. I would however definitely pay a $30 to $50 monthly cost for an unlimited HDTV subscription to the Itunes library of shows.
If they don’t like the idea of monthly subscriptions they need to entice me with something that rivals that value. I would probably buy season sets to upwards of 15 to 20 shows if they packaged the subscription along with a physical Blu Ray copy after the season ends with it.