A new option for watching TV shows through iTunes may soon be coming from Apple, allowing consumers to rent episodes for prices as low as 99 cents, reports Bloomberg News.
Currently iTunes sells TV episodes for $1.99 or $2.99 each, and only movies are available for renting. Consumers would be able to watch programs from Fox for 48 hours, and Apple is also in discussions ABC parent Walt Disney Company, CBS Corp. and NBC Universal, the story says.
With the service, viewers would be able to rent TV shows within 24 hours of their air dates and the programs would be free of advertisements, the article adds. Apple will hold an event on Sept. 7 in San Francisco — two weeks before the 2010-11 prime-time season begins — to announce the service, as well as updated devices, according to the piece.
ABC and Fox are closer to reaching a deal with Apple than NBC and CBS, the story adds. CBS and NBC may not be part of the Sept. 7 event. Apple, Fox, CBS, NBC and Disney declined to comment.
Does this spell the end of hulu.com’s 1-week-lag cost-free network programming? That would be a sad loss for those of us who enjoy incidental television but not enough to actually buy a TV.
Hulu and other forms of distribution will still continue. People who want instant gratificaiton will pay the Apple fee, but most will still use Hulu and other web distribution methods. Just like pay per view for movies where some buy it immediately on DVD or Cable and others wait for HBO or syndication.
I just have to say, fine info. i’ve been searching for something like this for a although. can i subscribe somehow to new content? like email subscription or rss feed?
Nicely said, agree with pretty much everything there. Thanks 😀
I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?