Steve Jobs, unlike his usual self, made a concession to Hollywood, shifting what had been a stringent pricing scheme for TV Show episode downloads.
To date, the standard pricing for TV shows on iTunes has been $1.99, in this new deal with HBO, some will sell for more then standard. Also, episodes will not be available for purchase until the DVD is released.
This week, popular shows like ‘Sex and the City,’ ‘The Sopranos,’ and ‘Deadwood,’ will be available for sale. With most of the library to follow.
The whole situation is pretty interesting, as I’m pretty sure Apple lost NBC as a content provider to its hesitance to allow variable pricing. HBO has been a hold out, with the danger of compromising their rather expensive subscription based service.
Things available for legal download are always a good thing, but I’d be nervous to stray from $1.99 an episode. With TV shows available to download via Torrent, people are hesitant to even pay a $1.99.