Apple Inc plans to rent TV shows to viewers for 99 cents through iTunes and is in talks with News Corp, Walt Disney and other media conglomerates, according to sources.
The industry sources, who will remain anonymous because negotiations were private, claimed the discussions were aimed at enabling viewers to rent network programing for 48 hours via Apple’s iTunes store.
One of the three entertainment industry sources said that NBC and CBS, as well as several media companies, were not keen on the plan because they believed it would undercut the revenue earned currently through iTunes.
But other analysts claim that if the deal goes through, revenue from iTunes will dwarf any income made via free, advertisement-supported online content from websites such as Hulu.
At the moment, consumers can buy entire episodes of popular TV shows like ABC’s “Lost” and NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” for repeated viewing at approximately $1.99 per episode.
“In a sense, this rental model undercuts purchase, but it’s the way the world is going,” said Tom Adams, president of Screen Digest Inc.
“All the free streaming options that have proliferated on the Internet have already brought to a halt the fast growth of the TV show sales business,” he said referring to episodes sales on iTunes.
According to Bloomberg, which broke the news of these network negotiations, Apple is set to unveil a newer, higher resolution screen version of its iPod Touch.
Apple debuted Apple TV in 2007, which plays computer-based video on television sets. Its popularity has dwindled due to devices such as the iPhone and the more recent iPad.
