HBO, NBC, and Flexible Pricing on iTunes
HBO television programs were added to the iTunes store today, including Sex and the City, Deadwood, and The Sopranos. But, you see, that’s not even the really big news. The really big news, as TUAW alludes to, is that some of the HBO programs are priced at $2.99 per episode, a dollar higher than the price of nearly every other television show that iTunes sells.
This sort of flexible pricing model is exactly what NBC was looking for when it took its shows off of iTunes last year. And me, while I’m not excited about the prospect of flexible pricing—I like knowing that any TV episode I buy, regardless of what show its from, is going to cost me the same two bucks—I do like the idea that maybe this opens up the possibility of Apple and NBC kissing and making up. I’ve missed out on an entire season of Heroes that I would have otherwise watched if I had been able to download it (legally) and catch up on it whenever I liked.
I really love the idea of a la carte TV. Like Dan Rubin, who twittered about ditching cable for an Apple TV and thereby saving a boatload of cash, I would absolutely jump at the chance to cancel my cable subscription and pay only for the two or three shows that I dig, if only all of those shows were easily accessible and purchasable from my Apple TV.
Comments On This Article
CableTechTalk says:
I don’t know. How do you save “boatloads” under any scenario except one in which you watch less TV?
I don’t think the economics of a la carte are on your side. Note that Dan Rubin’s plan requires P2P acquiring of content, which is (to be honest) just piracy. Of course you can save money by not paying for content.
ChrisClark says:
Well, I watch three, maybe four shows (Lost, Heroes, and Smallville, though I’m thinking of quitting that one...), each of which I used to eventually buy on DVD. If I canned cable and bought those three or four shows episode-by-episode, I’d save money on a number of fronts, wouldn’t I?
I’d be saving the entire amount of the cable bill for the summer months, when no shows are on.
I’d be saving a smidgen by buying digital episodes instead of DVDs. And the digital episodes would take the place of the cable, because they’re out the next day. So I’d be getting two things for the price of one.
Does that make sense?
I see where you’re coming from, and I’m sure that this sort of thing wouldn’t work for everyone. But for me, if it weren’t for the fact that Comcast discounts my cable Internet bill as long as I maintain a bare-bones cable TV subscription, this would make a lot of sense.
CableTechTalk says:
My neighbor used to get the $20 lifeline service from Comcast just to save on his cable modem service, while using DirecTV for video.
Yeah, if you’re only watching 3-4 hours of TV a week, then iTunes makes a hell of a lot more sense than cable service.
ChrisClark says:
Unfortunately, I’m stuck with Comcast as my Internet provider because DSL isn’t available in our development. Actually, I shouldn’t say unfortunately, because I do like Comcast for Internet service. I just wish that canceling the cable was an option. I’d like to see how well we’d do without it.
On the flip side, I’m sure I would watch a lot more TV if I could afford some of the premium stuff. If we got the History Channel and Discovery and all of that, we’d be watching a lot more than we are now. The money just isn’t there. So, it’s a lot of podcasts for us.
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