Comments on: Apple sells 200 million TV shows, but is that a big deal?

The money that the networks make from iTunes is still relatively small, but it delivers a message: there's a growing market for mobile video.

[RicF964]

I don't understand why people would want to pay for each episode of a TV Show when you can rent the disc from Netflix and then convert using something like CuCuSoft. We've watched Rome, Weeds, Entourage, and Dexter going to and from work on public transportation and I only pay a per month rental not a per episode download.

[ckurowic]

I really like Apple, but I agree with your comment. Paying for TV episodes is kind of lame.

[Thomas, David]

Except one little caveat, isn't making a copy of the content illegal? What I mean to say is, the disc you rented, does it not have language prohibiting people from making unauthorized copies?

The studios major source of revenue is advertising. That's how the revenue can be 11 billion in one quarter, and why advertisement free content is an issue for them.

[DrtyDogg]

You can also just record it.

[mrgoodall]

Um, that's a little thing we like to call theft. You don't legally own the right to that work, nor the legal protection to suitablly "back it up" for your use. So how can justify your actions again? You might as well assert, "Yeah, paying to go to the movies is for suckers, when I can rent it from Netflix in a few months and copy it with Cucusoft and watch it while i ride the bus."

[MaggieRed]

I don't mind buying them. I have a number of seasons of some of those you mentioned from Showtime. And now CW put Smallville out there which makes it much easier then ripping my seasons 1-6 from disc. That took a lot of time.

So I'm happy they are doing it.

[andrewrm]

If you combine purchasing the shows with Apple T.V. it's a pretty good proposition.

[pairof9s--2008]

@RicF964: Why are there car washes when people could easily do the same at their house and save money, too...because of the convenience. That's why these shows are selling. The convenience of automatically downloading it to your iPod, Apple TV or computer via iTunes as opposed to waiting on Netflix delivery, ripping the DVD and uploading to your device of choice. It might not sound like much to you, but obviously to a great many people it does!

[sandonet]

I upload "Mad Men" to my iPhone to watch on the train. And here's the other thing. It's cool not having to watch commercials. Sometimes, I hate being interrupted. Still, with the economy tanking, people might cut back spending for this kind of convenience.

[DrtyDogg]

Media Center + DVRMS Toolbox = commercial free .mpg of your tv show.

[Heebee Jeebies]

Nothing like paying for what you can get for free. God consumers are real morons. Hey twits just watch television. Unless you have an antenna you are already paying for these programs. Only twits would pay twice.

Robert

[paulsecic]

Anyone who buys network shows has to be idiots!

[djames42]

Heebee, maybe it actually does make sense to pay for episodes... I have a HDTV. I pay Comcast $14 for the basic basic cable. If I want HD and HD-DVR from them, guess what? My bill goes to about $100/month. I watch two, maybe three series. So I bought an Apple TV. Now I pay $40 per year per show. That's a grand total of $420 for this year's worth of TV. That's about four months of what I'd pay Comcast. And I can re-watch episodes. And I don't get commercials. Next year my cost goes down to $120 for those same three shows. I'd have to watch about 30 programs to make up the difference. Anyone who regularly watches 30 televisions shows needs to get out more often.

[setgo]

See this article shows why our economy is in crisis now. GREED! Dude is asking if 36 million dollars a year is a big deal for a network. That's worth repeating: $36 million! 36M that they didn't have before; 36 million in addition to their current revenue; 36M from just compressing, posting and letting Apple host. If I pass by a **** dime on the street I'm picking it up. That's just a crazy question to me.

[Jim_Feeley]

> The numbers show that a significant amount
> of people are willing to pay cash for mobile content

Do you mean "mobile content" as in "content people can move around" or as in "content people can watch on iPods and iPhones"? If the later, is there a way to know what percentage of iTunes TV sales end up being watched on mobile devices, and not just on general-purpose computers?

10%? 50%? 75%? I have no idea...But I'd like to know...

[mrgoodall]

The problem I have with the authors assertion is that he's comparing add buys for an industry with purchases of television shows. How many times will an ad run during the course of a day, let alone a show? Swiffer Wet Jet, Oxy Clean, or Burger King anyone? A single ad buy on a nationwide network is several thousand for 15 secs, a single episode of a show is &1.99/per, but on air that show can have 13 mins of commercials (780secs). So lets assume each spot costs $10k, 780/30sec spot=26 commercials x $10k=$260k for one show, thats a lot for one show, and how many shows are on tv? At best its like saying the potato chip industry isnt worth a lot because oil companies make billions in a fiscal quarter.

[bbftu919]

I am amazed that anyone would pay for a TV show. There are so many ways to watch for free. I guess it is just harder and more time consuming to get them onto an iPod or iPhone than it is for other brand devices. Apple has a good model here, as it can get folks to pay for free content. Think I will add to my Apple stock holdings.

[mycrapsgame]

I really would like HD TV shows and Movies on the Apple TV box. Trouble is Apple's "HD" is fudged, they show 1280 by 720 (maximum) pixels. HiDef means 1080 to the rest of the world. Apple's "HD" is a scaled down "special" spec Apple made up.

[toomath]

the iTunes TV downloads were terrible in quality when iTunes first had TV. They've gotten steadily better and now the HD versions are fantastic. That'll help sales. But these aren't primary purchases, they're often supplemental - the person has access to the show on tv but wants to collect the episodes because they're a fan.

In my case I want to download just one show, Dexter, because I don't want to pay for showtime and buying the season on Itunes is cheaper. So I can see that in that particular example, the network really isn't coming out ahead. Which may be why Dexter is not going to be available on iTunes until the season is almost over. And at that point, perhaps I'd be better off just going through netflix...

[mectron]

there is 2 problems here:
1. Apple (no one in his right mind will buy anything from such a bad company
2. DRM. Who is stupid enough to paid 2$ for a DRM infected file?

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