ABC and Fox are in as far as Apple’s new 99-cent rentals for TVshows go, while NBC, Viacom, and Warner Brothers are out, for now. On the fence: CBS.
"We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content," NBC Universal chief exec — er, former chief exec — Jeff Zucker said about Apple’s just-launched, 99-cent TV rentals on iTunes during a Goldman Sachs-hosted confab earlier this week, according to Reuters. "We thought it would devalue our content."
Also not thrilled with the idea of 99-cent TV show rentals: Barry Meyer, chairman of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a half-share partner (with CBS) of The CW network. "We just don’t think the value propositionis a good one for us," said the exec, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Also not thrilled with the idea of 99-cent TV show rentals: Barry Meyer, chairman of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a half-share partner (with CBS) of The CW network. "We just don’t think the value propositionis a good one for us," said the exec, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Speaking of CBS, the network is taking more of a "wait-and-see" attitude, with CBS CEO Les Moonves saying that the network wants to "see what happens and maybe we’ll talk again in January," as he’s quoted in the Wall Street Journal.
But the big cheese at Viacom (parent company of Paramount, MTV Networks, and Comedy Central) sounds like he’s already made up his mind. "The 99-cent rental is not a good price point," CEO Philippe Dauman said in a separate Journal article. "It doesn’t work for us."
Even News Corp.-owned Fox, which joined with ABC in making its shows available for Apple’s 99-cent rental service earlier this month, is sounding a note of caution, with News Corp. President Chase Carey reportedly calling the network’s role in the service just a "short-term test." Uh-oh.
The split among the big TV networks about 99-cent TV show rentals could spell trouble for the just-relaunched Apple TV, a slimmed-down, streaming-only version of the original Apple TV that lacks the hard drive of its predecessor.
Users of the new Apple TV will be able to rent shows directly over the box, but not purchase them — and that means for now, Apple TV users will be stuck with a limited selection of TV shows from ABC and Fox. (Another option is to stream purchased shows from a PC, Mac, iPhone, or iPad to the Apple TV via the wireless "AirPlay" feature, but that means you’ll have to download a purchased show onto an iOS device or iTunes before you can start streaming — not exactly a model of instant gratification.)
Meanwhile, CBS has been making noises that it might join the Hulu ranks, which would be a significant move given that CBS is one of the last remaining Hulu holdouts (besides Viacom, which yanked its shows — including "Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" — off of Hulu back in March).
In other words, it looks like TV executives are much happier with the idea of offering up their shows on a $10-a-month, all-you-can-eat basis (as far as watching on an actual TV goes, as opposed to streaming in a browser) than they are with the concept of 99-cent rentals — which, to their minds, might sound a little too much like a bargain bin.
Remember some of the big movie moguls had the same problem with buck-a-night DVD rentals from Redbox? Of course, many of those concerns were ultimately settled after Redbox signed deals with the worried studios that included a month-long window for their latest releases.
So, how will Apple’s 99-cent TV rentals ultimately shake out? Hard to say. Perhaps all the big networks will eventually get on board — after all, there was a fair amount of pushing and shoving between Apple and NBC over for-purchase episodes before the Peacock network agreed (again) to play ball.
More importantly, though, will 99-cent TV rentals take off with viewers? I’m on the fence, given than I can actually own an episode for $1.99. What do you think?
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