(Image source: PC Magazine/Apple)
BY TRACY PFEIFFER
ANCHOR BLAKE HANSON
You're watching multisource tech video news analysis from Newsy.
Apple has quietly discontinued its TV rental service, which allowed users to “rent” episodes for a limited time, for 99 cents a pop.
Reports say the rental option is no longer available in the iTunes store-- only a “buy” button.
Miami’s WPLG explains the move.
ANCHOR, WPLG: “The company took down its site as customers show they preferred buying TV shows. The rental service was added last fall at a lower price and a short viewing window, but one study showed that customers actually preferred just to buy the shows altogether.”
The New York Times reports-- Apple wasn’t completely sold on the idea anyway.
“The rental service, announced last fall, was an experiment of sorts to see if a lower price point and a short viewing window would entice consumers and encourage sales of the Apple TV product. But as Apple’s statement indicated, rentals did not take off.”
A writer for ZDNet says-- the experiment never made much sense in the first place, since competitors allow users to stream much more content-- at a price of $7.99 for the whole month.
“If you’re going to watch a handful of old episodes or more, you’re better off getting a Hulu Plus or even Netflix subscription (especially if it is a previous season)... Additionally, only two studios (ABC and Fox) have shown any interest in the rental model. Thus, if there isn’t even enough content to keep this model alive, it’s not worth pouring any more effort or resources into it.”
But a writer for Apple Bitch says-- don’t count the company out of the game just yet.
The death of the rental service-- might be paving the way for something bigger.
“The removal may be related to the rumor which appeared earlier today which suggested that the company was considering a subscription on-demand model for streaming video. Additionally, the imminent launch of iCloud may have some impact upon this as it has been rumored that the new service will allow online storage and streaming of purchased video.”
Finally-- a writer for TIME’s Techland says-- the subscription game is getting complicated-- so Apple’s new CEO, Tim Cook, has his work cut out for him.
“Eventually, some tech company will find a path to network executives' hearts. It could very well be Apple... But the problem with rumors about web-based video services is that those services are always at the whim of content owners. And they tend to move very, very slowly.”
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