Sex and the iTunes Store
They’re there: Carrie Bradshaw. Tony Soprano. Jimmy McNulty. Jemaine Clement. Seth Bullock. Julius Caesar.
Early Tuesday morning, somebody at Apple’s iTunes Store flicked a switch and six of HBO’s most popular series became available for download for prices ranging from $1.99 to $2.99 per episode. They are:
- Sex and the City: $1.99 per episode
- The Wire: $1.99
- Deadwood: $2.99
- Flight of the Conchords: $1.99
- Rome: $2.99
- The Sopranos: $2.99
As widely reported on Monday, the deal is a breakthrough for both Apple (AAPL) and Time Warner’s (TWX) HBO.
For HBO, which is making individual episodes available for the first time, it’s a chance to expand viewership beyond its 30 million cable TV subscribers to Apple’s broader audience of 50 million registered iTunes users.
For Apple, it’s a strong signal that Steve Jobs has backed away from his stubborn insistence on flat-rate pricing — $1.99 for TV episodes, $.99 for songs — and is ready start a new round of deal making in Hollywood.
On May 1, Apple announced an agreement with Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox (NWS), Walt Disney (DIS), Paramount (VIA), Sony (SNE) and others to make movies available for iTunes download the same day they are released on DVD at two price points: $14.99 for new releases and $9.99 for older films. (see Apple’s new Hollywood deal)
Could a rapprochement with NBC — which pulled its series off iTunes last December in a dispute over flat rate pricing (see here) — be far behind? The fact that NBC (GE) started streaming free episodes of two of its most popular shows, The Office and 30 Rock, to iPhones last week seems like a promising sign.
[UPDATE: Apple posted a press release this morning. HBO is "excited." Apple is "thrilled."]
Jobs has already said that Apple wouldn’t split - he gave Google as an example of a stock that’s never split and the share price continues to grow. Not gonna happen.
Lighten up your spell checking already! I think NBC needs to get back to iTunes and Apple will have to take it in the chin for their unproductive actions. Good concept but rethink your execution Steve. Apple will SPLIT by end of year…..stay long.
On what planet does hbo have 40 million subs? Pluto?
You’re only off by about 11 million.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i383cb32713bee66810233fa594bad5c5
ex ped: You’re right. 40 million included Cinemax subscribers. I read the Apple press release too quickly. Thanks.
OY! Guys, it’s Sex *and* the City, not *in* the city!
Proofreader take a day off?
RM
Apple offered a form of variable pricing with music: $1.29 for higher quality DRM-free tracks. But it didn’t seem to work too well as most labels were happy to sell higher quality DRM-free for the same 99 cent price (or less) at another store.
In any case, if higher prices are instituted not only for content from additional-fee cable channels, but for free broadcast (or basic cable)channels, this is not good news for the desiring-to-be-law-abiding consumer. I may be willing to pay more for an HD version (altho those can be found on torrents as well), but don’t think I’d pay 50% or more for a particular show. If this is the way it has to be for the shows to be sold at all, I hope Apple got some other consumer-friendly concession from the studios.
You also forgot that NBC shows are back on iTunes in the UK. Will a return to the US be far behind?
Jemaine has an e at the end, Sopranos does not. Inability to spellcheck does not merit confidence in the rest of your article.
ex ped: Thanks. Do I get credit for prompt corrections?
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Silicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
Apple has split a number of times in the past … not sure why that would change now.