The latest buzz is that Time Warner's HBO (Home Box Office) television channel will soon start selling shows and movies on Apple's iTunes online digital store. The official announcement is expected as early as today.
More importantly, for the first time, Apple has agreed on flexible pricing for different shows offered via iTunes. Some HBO shows will be priced at the standard $1.99 while some will be charged higher in the US. Needless to say, HBO seems to have gotten a better deal out of Apple than most other media companies.
Up until now, Apple has always shown reluctance to offer variable prices for iTunes content, reason cited being "keeping it simple for customers". Last summer, NBC actually pulled down its programs from iTunes because Apple refused to offer variable pricing. The company then went and joined hands with Microsoft to sell its programs via the Zune Web site.
Now with HBO getting Apple to agree on variable pricing, other media companies are likely to follow suit -- trying to bargain similar terms out of Apple. In the event they're successful, consumers may have to start shelling out those extra bucks for their favorite shows and movies.
However, the immediate outcome of the HBO-Apple deal is that soon, popular HBO shows such as Sex and the City, The Sopranos, etc, will be made available for download via iTunes. Interestingly for a long time, HBO was reluctant to offer its shows and movies online. The channel also has its own online download service called "HBO on Broadband" meant exclusively for HBO subscribers.
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