HBO just added to iTunes, some episodes cost $2.99
That was quick. Just yesterday I wrote about the rumored addition of HBO shows to the iTunes Store and today they show up on iTunes. The following HBO shows are now available on iTunes, though some of the episodes cost more than $1.99:Episodes of the Sopranos, Rome, and Deadwood all cost $2.99 while the rest of the series are priced at the typical $1.99. Looks like Apple is a little more open to flexible pricing on television shows than they used to be.
Thanks, howie.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MikeCP said 8:49AM on 5-13-2008
Well I suppose that's fine, but I hope flexible pricing works both ways. Is there anyone out there that thinks its worth it to pay 1.99 for an 11 minute show, like all those from adult swim?
Reply
Mark said 4:20PM on 5-13-2008
Agree with Mike, and wrote as much on Engadget. It better work both ways. Paying $1.99 for ancient shows like Bewitched or Starsky and Hutch, and $30+ for a season when the DVDs are in the $19.99 or less bargain bins at Costco is fairly obscene, considering you're getting drm'ed up the ass and so-so video quality.
Quix said 8:59AM on 5-13-2008
$2.99 for an episode of a television show? No. Way.
But make it HD and I'll think about it.
Reply
d said 9:05AM on 5-13-2008
FotC is $1.99. I haven't checked any other shows. In the article, it's listed as being more that $1.99.
Reply
d said 9:06AM on 5-13-2008
Woops- my bad. That was a list of all HBO shows available, the $2.99 shows are listed in the paragraph below.
Rockstar said 9:36AM on 5-13-2008
$10 a month = 5 bo + On Demand for most.... vs $2.99 per episode vs price of a dvd box set.
Let me be blunt.
HBO, you're out of your fucking mind.
Reply
Rockstar said 9:38AM on 5-13-2008
sorry bo = hbo and i should have added 2.99 at lower quality than dvd WITH drm.
Joe said 10:17AM on 5-13-2008
Not necessarily. Sure, HBO is only about $10 a month if you already have digital cable, but if you just want to watch one show, then it's hardly worth $75 a month. I'm going to ditch cable tv now that most shows are available for online viewing.
Rockstar said 10:23AM on 5-13-2008
I hear ya Joe, but I think most people have cable modems, and basic cable. Obviously there is a [small] market for this - that said, they are still old shows, and DVD is still cheaper and doesn't have DRM. So even if you don't have cable tv, and use dial up or dsl - there's still a second better option.
Logich said 12:17PM on 5-13-2008
I'll agree that the price is steep if you already subscribe to cable or a satellite service, but I can't justify paying for the subscription when I watch only one series a quarter... I usually cancel HBO after each run is finished.
Consider a series like John Adams that was just run and has already been released to DVD. I'd certainly have purchased it through iTunes as it aired rather than subscribe to HBO for just a month.
It's not really a question of cost for me, but one of preference. I can't wait until I can completely cancel my satellite TV subscription and get individual shows as I wan to watch them without all the extra junk.
Rockstar said 12:22PM on 5-13-2008
I would love to be able to cancel cable/tivo - but there needs to be an a la carte option - and Apple would need to move to a Microsoft/Amazon sort of model where the user can redownload and is not responsible for backing up gigs and gigs of data to keep the shows. At the very least they need to fill the gap with airport disk and time capsule missing an itunes server/iphoto server. FWIW I don't subscribe to HBO anymore for the same reason you cited.. usually cancel after a run, now i just wait for the marathon session on dvd. :)
Amir said 8:18PM on 5-28-2008
@Rockstar
DVDs also have DRM; It's just easier to crack. It's still just as illegal to crack a DVD's DRM as it is to crack iTunes' DRM, so the only real difference is price.
As well, backing up "gigs and gigs" of data is truly a trivial matter if you have a time capsule. If not, remote FTP backup is also relatively easy. Or simpler yet, just use an external HDD; it's cheap and takes up much less space than DVDs and their cases, even if you keep many drives for redundancy.
Additionally, there's a value in having what you want right when you want it. And finally, though not a huge deal to many, stamping and moving around tons of plastic for DVDs (some of which will never be used) is far less eco-friendly than moving just the necessary bits to those who definitely want them.
RLH said 9:38AM on 5-13-2008
Still, the studios don't get the "digital age"
1. The offerings are old (previous seasons). HBO is protecting it's subscription revenue, rather than allowing HBO Productions to maximize its income separately.
2. Given the old content, the pricing is too high. The Season 1 price for Rome is higher than running out and buying it on DVD (and lower quality).
3. Speaking of quality, where's the HD?
My judgement? Lame.
Will they sell a lot of copies? Probably.
Reply
Mike said 9:43AM on 5-13-2008
Wow, $2.99.
Good luck with that HBO........
I guess Bittorrent really is your friend.
Reply
Gary said 9:51AM on 5-13-2008
The Wire, a full hour of probably the best drama produced in the last 10 years for US$1.99.
Flight of the Conchords, half an hour of whimsical, low budget comedy (which I do enjoy) for US$1.99.
Is that pricing structure flexible enough?
I bought the Flight of the Conchords seeason 1 DVD for significantly less than US$24 it would cost to buy all 12 episodes from iTunes and I live in 'rip-off Britain'. You americans know you're in trouble when it's cheaper to buy something in the UK.
Reply
Gary said 9:54AM on 5-13-2008
Of course I should add that when these shows do make it to the UK iTunes store, probably a couple of years after they aired in the US, they'll be GBP£2.99 each (US$6).
justin said 11:30AM on 5-13-2008
i don't have issues with content that is twice as longer being more than the standard price. i know A&E shows Sopranos here and after being edited + commercials its over 1H:15M long.
it costs more to produce longer shows compared to a 30 min sitcom/comedy and it also costs twice as much to host it in terms of bandwidth.
Reply
noza said 12:16PM on 5-13-2008
Funny that pricing like this was why NBC left iTunes... probably Apple has had it in the works for awhile but there was no way in hell that Steve was going to let NBC be the first to get it.
Reply
Todd Sieling said 12:53PM on 5-13-2008
Boo to differential pricing. Now I have to do a different cost-benefit consideration for HBO? I don't think so. Part of the magic of iTMS is having a solid price per episode so that I can make an easy judgement. Sadly, HBO and NBC seem to be more interested in playing older confusion games that look at customers as suckers.
But, it's all moot for me right now, as the HBO titles don't appear in the Canada store. It's still a lot of car shows and b-grade comedies, with some notable exceptions.
Reply
Rubbinz said 1:00PM on 5-13-2008
Yay! For Deadwood and The Wire. Boo for the price per episode. Oh well, Netflix already paid off for these shows, and I got to keep a copy too. :P
Reply