iTunes Multi-Pass 'Subscriptions' for TV Shows

well, there you have it then... answers that question.

I hate the concept of the "you can watch it but you don't own it" subscription services, but if this is just a "bulk" deal then that's cool. The Daily Show rocks!

I'm definitely not a fan of subscription models in general, but for an individual TV show, this is pretty cool.

Here's a press release I just got:


NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes music and video store on Wednesday took its first step toward a monthly subscription model with a new service called Multi-Pass that lets users buy TV shows on a monthly basis.

iTunes is launching the service in partnership with Viacom Inc.'s Comedy Central Network, which is rolling out "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" on the service. Fans will be able to buy the next month's series of 16 new episodes via Multi-Pass for $9.99, or to pay $1.99 per episode. Four episodes air each week and viewers can download each episode after it's been broadcast.

TV shows and other video have been available for sale on iTunes since late last year. Comedy Central announced a relationship with iTunes six weeks ago with shows including "South Park," "Drawn Together" and "Comedy Central Stand-Up."

Michele Ganeless, executive vice president at Comedy Central, said there would be no advertising on the service for the time being, similar to the network's DVD business.

Apple has so far resisted calls from media companies and competitors to adopt a monthly subscription fee favored by the likes of Napster and Real Networks Inc.'s Rhapsody, preferring an a la carte download model where music tracks cost 99 cents and videos $1.99.

Videos downloaded from the iTunes Music Store can be played back on a personal computer or an Apple iPod portable media player, among other devices. More than 8 million videos have been sold since it launched at the end of last year.

Shows including Walt Disney Co.'s "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" were among the first to be made available on the service.

As I understand the Reuters article, you will be able to KEEP the files purchased under the "MultiPass" option. So the term "Subscription" is misleading - it's more like a magazine. Your subscription gives you a number of issues per the term, and then when the membership ends, you keep the end product.

I like that, since it's cheaper. I don't like the idea of not being able to watch/listen to what you had bought once out of membership.

it's not really a subscription though. I mena it is, but you own the stuff afterwards. $10, 16 epsidoes of TDS or Colbert. It's just a cheap discount.

I am considering this though . . . I love TDS, Colbert is funny most of the time.

This is not a subscription system. You still have the episodes even if you don't buy the show next month.

This is simply like an album purchase-- you get a discount for buying in bulk.

Edit: That's what I get for being a slow typer: Third in line to point this out.

This is not a subscription system. You still have the episodes even if you don't buy the show next month.

This is simply like an album purchase-- you get a discount for buying in bulk.

Edit: That's what I get for being a slow typer: Third in line to point this out.

I agree. But- Reuters chose to phrase it this way. Perhaps it is foreshadowing - I hope not.

Step in the right direction...

I have berated Apple for their lackluster support of an integrated media solution but this is really a step in that direction. Not for me though... tiVo RULES.

J