The Season Pass concept is taking shape at Apple's iTunes Music Store. Following the
unveiling of the "multi-pass" earlier this month, Apple has now added season pass options to several other shows. A quick look at the structure and pricing of these offerings reveals a bit about how these shows are being positioned vis-?is other post-broadcast options, including on-demand and network-run marketing operations.
Unlike the multi-pass which was debuted for frequently-aired, topical shows, the season pass has been designed for prime-time network fare such as
Lost and
Desperate Housewives. Priced at US$34.99 for both shows, the season pass includes rights to all episodes from the season, including episodes that have yet to air. For
Lost, that translates to 25 episodes at a cost of US$1.40 per show, and
Desperate Housewives lands within pennies of this.
Focusing on these two shows, a comparison to DVD prices shows that the online versions are competitively priced. The first seasons of both shows sell for nearly $60 each on Amazon, roughly $25 more than the iTMS cost. What does that price premium get you? Physical media, superior resolution, and a dead-simple way to play the content on your TV. Is this going to be the big differentiator between online content and traditional content delivery mechanisms?
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Ars Technica
Mar 29, 2006, 11:44 PM
