Apple started a new promotion within iTunes offering certain music and movies for under $5 for a limitied time. For movies, this is brilliant, for music, it brings iTunes closer to AmazonMP3 in terms of deals. Today, iTunes has added a third discount section: Television shows. It's not nearly as compelling.
The area promises "This week's great TV shows under $10." But the problem is that most are either junk (The Starter Wife?) or best-of collections. For example, 30 Rock is on the list, but it's Tina Fey's top 5 episodes of the series -- and it's $9.99. Sure, that's a $5 savings if you were planning to buy those episodes individually, but who would? If I'm going to buy the show, I want the entire season.
The same is true for South Park (Matt and Trey's Top 10) and MADtv (The Best of). The Sarah Silverman Program is a nice offering as its the whole season, but there are only 6 episodes. Where are the real TV shows like Lost, 24, Heroes, Mad Men? In other words, where are the popular ones?
Of course Apple doesn't have to discount the popular ones, those already sell, but if it really wants to be the leader in digital video distribution over the Internet it should consider it. Top quality programs at good prices are like a gateway drug not only for iTunes but for devices like the Apple TV.
Apple is doing it right with movies, this week's offerings include Good Will Hunting, O Brother, Where Art Thou, Rambo: First Blood, Shakespeare in Love, The Rock, High Fidelity, Groundhog Day and Armageddon among others. (Interestingly, there is no one "Movie of the Week" this week, like there was last week.) I would buy all of these for $4.99, and I just might.
For music, the deals are more hit or miss. While everyone will want the Journey album Escape -- which, yes, contains the ultimate retro-hit and Camp Cyprus favorite "Don't Stop Believin'" -- I'm not sure how many people are going to buy The Best of Vanilla Ice. (Besides me, of course -- anything less than the best is a felony.)
