HBO might be coming to iTunes, with flexible pricing
Portfolio.com is reporting that you might soon be able to find Tony Soprano in the iTunes Store. HBO, the premium cable channel known for its original programming, is in talks with Apple to add HBO programming to the iTunes Store.This is good news for fans of HBO shows, but the real story here is the deal that HBO has reportedly managed to wrangle out of Apple. Portfolio's sources say that Apple has agreed to flexible pricing for HBO, which might mean we'll have to pay more than $1.99 per episode for that content. This is the structure that NBC, and many other studios, would love but Apple has been resistant to it in the past.
Before you go crazy, please note that flexible pricing might mean something other than paying more for the shows: Apple might give HBO a bigger cut of the profits from the flat $1.99. Only time will tell, since HBO insiders say that HBO's inclusion in the iTunes Store will be announced and launched at the same time.
Note: HBO and TUAW both have the same corporate overlords, but that doesn't mean we have any inside information.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Allan said 11:03AM on 5-12-2008
NBC will probably have a fit over this... but HBO is already a "premium" channel and it really would be not surprising to see them get a little bit more $ per download.
And IMO, worst 1 hr show on HBO > any 1 hr show on NBC. So I'd pay a higher price for that if I were to download.
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caleb said 1:51PM on 5-12-2008
The "premium" of HBO is supposed to reflect its lack of commercials. iTunes shows are already commercial free.
Jon said 11:24AM on 5-12-2008
There are already shows on iTunes outside the $1.99 pricing. For example, NOVA on PBS is $4.99 for an hour episode.
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Fernando said 11:25AM on 5-12-2008
Please HBO show iTunes some love this would be so great. My plan for the destruction of cable is just getting sweeter by the day.
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byelenak said 11:37AM on 5-12-2008
This makes no sense. You folks do realize that the average cost of an HBO subscription for cable/satelitte providers is $5-10 per month? Thefore, why would anyone pay $3-5 for ONE show, when you can have all of them and HBO on demand for the cost of 2 shows? Pass.
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Beau said 12:11PM on 5-12-2008
Um... what if you don't get cable. I don't watch TV. But I use Netflix, and I love the better HBO series.
You do realize that you can't _just buy HBO_, yeah?
Allan said 12:39PM on 5-12-2008
And you do realize that the average cost of your local NBC station would be... free with antenna? Why would you pay $2 per episode to watch something you can get for free?
Andrew said 1:18PM on 5-12-2008
NBC is not free. It actually cost a lot money - its only free to consumers because advertisers are footing the bill by buying commercial space during shows.
Paying $2 per episode means you get a clean copy (no commercials) of a show. you are never exposed to commercials like you would be on broadcast or a website and you get to keep that program to watch whenever you want.
In order to get 'free' shows you would need to be exposed to some sort of advertising. It would be interesting if iTunes offered 'free' shows with commercials built in - I don't think I would mind at all if I could subscribe to shows like I do now with Podcasts and just sit through a few commercials. I really think this is where the future of TV is heading.
Quix said 11:48AM on 5-12-2008
Why, why, WHY??? do content providers believe their shows are worth more than $2 an episode? Why can I get HBO for an extra $10-20 a month on my cable subscription and get unlimited access to all of their content, yet they think that I should pay more than $2 for each episode on a downloadable a la carte model?
Ditto the networks. NBC seems to think that a show is worth more than $2 an episode. Yet I can watch the same thing for free (with commercials) on broadcast television (or on their stupid website, for that matter) Does NBC *really* net over a dollar from me individually viewing their show on broadcast television or their website? Highly unlikely.
Yet despite the overpriced content, I've still spent a respectable amount of money on NBC shows in iTunes over the past couple of years. This year I've spent nothing. Zero. Zilch.
Nice move, NBC. You overcharged me and then spit in my face. You lose.
@ Allan: with HBO being a "premium" channel, their shows *might* be worth $2/episode. Not more. And doesn't "premium" here really mean "without advertising?"
Note to HBO: don't be like NBC.
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Beau said 12:15PM on 5-12-2008
1) Apple is taking their cut
AND
2) HBO has contracts/kickbacks with the cable companies.
Allan said 12:42PM on 5-12-2008
Oh I definitely agree that they're not "worth" the $2 per episode. None of the downloadable content is priced where I think it should be. But I don't make those choices. And it just so happens that I don't pay those prices either. It just seems logical that HBO would want a little more since their channel is a "premium" one. Just a logical assumption.
Until they start getting out of hand.
byelenak said 12:57PM on 5-12-2008
@ Beau, if you don't have cable tv, you probably shouldn't be buying items from ITunes, your money probably goes to more important purchases.
@ Allan, I do realize that NBC shows are free and therefore my post said "It doesn't make sense." It doesn't make sense for HBO or for regular cable channels. Especially now, when you can view ANY cable televison program directly on their website. I agree with you, I don't understand why anyone would pay any televison shows.
The only thing that makes a little sense if you were to buy a whole season of a show as each network's website generally only keeps the last few recent episodes and then deletes them at the end of the series. This way you can keep the series forever and play it on your apple tv.
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caleb said 2:02PM on 5-12-2008
@byelenak - I don't have Cable TV. I'm not sure I understand. Why shouldn't I be buying items from iTunes?
You say it does not make sense. What doesn't make sense about getting more value for less money? I pay less year to year to watch the shows I want, I don't have to watch commercials (or fuss with fast forwarding through them), and I own the show and can re-watch them whenever I want.
Beau said 2:34PM on 5-12-2008
"@ Beau, if you don't have cable tv, you probably shouldn't be buying items from ITunes, your money probably goes to more important purchases."
Strange logic. Here's mine - if I watch 4 HBO series per year, each with 12 episodes (on average), say for the sake of this convo those are $3 each = $108 per annum. I get alot of value for that $108... instead of waiting for the DVD sets to come out 6 months to a year later so I can watch on Netflix, I get to see them when the rest of the cable world sees them (who spends more like $1k+ annually for their TV habits, esp if they have an HBO sub on top of their premium service, which is required by many operators).
Beau said 2:35PM on 5-12-2008
"Especially now, when you can view ANY cable televison program directly on their website."
No you can't
CWeb said 2:48PM on 5-12-2008
Think outside the box with regard to the definition of "flexible" pricing. As we've seen with ITS movie rentals, Apple is willing to make concessions in order to get the ATV up and running, which will be necessary in order to sustain growth and lead the TV 2.0 market. The convergance of our Mac's, iPhone's, and T.V.'s is inevitible and I think Apple eventually wants to become a network provider, and compete with Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, etc. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see some sort of subscription based model arise out of this negotiation; it would serve as a test of the market's appetite for such a service. It would also be benficial for HBO as it allows them to leverage their main asset of original content in an icreasingly VOD world. As was mentioned above, no a la carte currently exists for "premium" cable content, but it's what the market wants and why ITS has been so successful.
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byelenak said 2:53PM on 5-12-2008
@ Caleb & Beau - my original comments:
@ Beau, if you don't have cable tv, you probably shouldn't be buying items from ITunes, your money probably goes to more important purchases.
This logic stems from United States statistics (my apologies if you don't live in the USA) that states 64-87% of households subscribe to cable or satellite TV service. The flucuation in percentage is based on average annual income 15K @64% up to 75k @87%. The number one reason why households don't have cable tv? Too expensive, thus the analysis that one would be led to believe that because you don't have cable television, you have more important things you need to spend your income on before cable television. This may or may not be your specific situation, but now you both will have a better idea of where this logic was derived from.
@Caleb - You really can't watch ANY show that you want, Apple doesn't offer shows from every channel, not to mention how many of those Itunes downloadable shows can you watch in high definition on your television?
@Beau - That's an excellent cost benefit analysis that you put together. However, you would ONLY purchase HBO shows? You don't buy any from other networks and you don't want any from other networks? How did you determine that you were a fan of these HBO series, did you originally watch them on TV or did you just randomly start downloading them from torrents?
@Beau - I said you could view ANY television show from the networks website. ANY may have been a slight exaggeration, however ANY of the large networks offer this and many of the smaller networks as well. A show would have to be REALLY unpopular to not have a streaming option on their networks website and that same show probably wouldn't be available for download via ITunes either. However, you're telling me that this isn't possible, yet in your first post you said you didn't watch cable tv? Which one is it?
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caleb said 3:22PM on 5-12-2008
Just because something is too expensive does not mean you can not afford it. $17.95 is too expensive for a gumball, and I'm not going to buy it. That does not mean I don't have $18 to spend on a whim.
The "High Definition" signal my cable provider made available would probably make you nauseous. The artifacting was ridiculous. Not to mention the nearly nightly freezing.
I did not say I could watch any show, but I can watch all the shows I want to., so for me there is very little difference.
My biggest issue with streaming shows over the internet is the lack of the "15 foot experience" which I highly enjoy. Then there are the added benefits that I mentioned of owning the content and not having to deal with advertising. I have to confess i *really* enjoy being the customer rather than the product.
While iTunes does frequently make episodes of new shows available for free to get people to check them out, I can say this discussion as made me realize internet streaming is the perfect way for me to decide whether a new show is worth buying.
Beau said 3:44PM on 5-12-2008
"@Beau - That's an excellent cost benefit analysis that you put together. However, you would ONLY purchase HBO shows? You don't buy any from other networks and you don't want any from other networks? How did you determine that you were a fan of these HBO series, did you originally watch them on TV or did you just randomly start downloading them from torrents?"
As I said above "I don't watch TV. But I use Netflix, and I love the better HBO series."
I killed my cable a year ago. Haven't watched a network sitcom since the 90s (Seinfeld). Aside from HBO maybe some oddball shows like American Chopper or specials on Discovery, but really, it wasn't enough to merit keeping the cable connection. Most of my friends are the same way. Urban 20 and 30 somethings with very active social lives and little time for TV.