As Web television offerings grow, both free and paid-for, cable providers are finding customers canceling their subscriptions in order to save some much-needed money. Hulu is looking to offer a paid subscription service and now Apple may be looking for similar with a monthly iTunes offering.
From Free To Paid
There is more television and movie content to watch for free on the Web now than ever before. Hulu in the States, BBC iPlayer in the U.K., and YouTube and all the rest worldwide, the Internet is now awash with programming.
Interestingly enough, both Hulu and the iPlayer are thought to be looking at paid options in the future. But this is, if anything, a sign that the business is getting serious and offering an alternative to the traditional cable and television networks.
Monthly iTunes Subscription
According to Media Memo, Apple is now eyeing a monthly subscription plan which would see a variety of television programming available for people willing to pay $30 per month for the privilege.
$30 a month is not a cheap option but compared to the cable subscriptions in the States of almost $100 per month it can be considered an absolute bargain.
iTunes Buffet
currently offers individual downloads of television episodes. Pilots and premieres are often free but new seasons of successful shows can cost upwards of $35, with episodes delivered as they air on television.
This new plan, if it actually happens, would offer a kind of buffet of iTunes offerings for a set price. Rather than downloading and owning digital copies of the shows, users would be streaming them to watch on demand when they want to.
Cable Catastrophe?
The key for Apple is getting content providers on board. Disney is being mentioned as the first network likely to sign up but one network isn’t going to be enough to tempt people to pay the asking price.
Also, any venture such as this would be sure to harm cable providers and they are unlikely to take kindly to the networks giving up their content in this way.
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