Apple Looking to Cut TV Show Prices
Despite the recent defection of NBC Universal, which may in fact been as a result of negotiations including this option, Apple is trying to lower the price of video downloads on iTunes. Their proposed new price would be 99 cents / TV episode.
There are reasons for the network's unease. For example, DVD sales of television shows have become an important part of overall revenue. Variety offered one example where NBC's Heroes DVD currently retails for $40 in stores.
Including 23 episodes, on iTunes it would currently cost $45.77 to purchase all of them. After the change, that cost would be $22.77, much cheaper than the DVD. Customers could opt for the cheaper download method, cannibalizing sales of the show on DVD.
Apple has a great deal of "power" nowadays, but studios and networks have still been pushing for a tiered pricing arrangement, which Apple has been against from the very start.
