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CBS, NBC to Offer TV Shows for 99 Cents

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stepping-towards-on-demand dept.

According to an AP report. "CBS and NBC have announced deals to offer replays of prime-time programs for 99 cents per episode, shifting television toward a sales model that gained popularity with downloaded music." But the shows will only be available over Comcast on Demand, not for download.

10 of 303 comments (clear)

  1. For the cost of fifty shows by The_Rippa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For the cost of fifty shows you can just get a Tivo.

    1. Re:For the cost of fifty shows by BushCheney08 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And for the cost of another 300 shows you can have it activated.

      Note: I love my TiVo and think it's worth every penny.

      --
      Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
  2. Internet TV is next by b0r1s · · Score: 4, Insightful

    First comes mainstream TV on the net.
    Then comes internet only TV.

    On-demand, lower broadcast costs, and the replacement of 'public access' with equal opportunity online broadcasts all push internet video over it's ancient predecesor.

    It's only a matter of time until the TV joins the newspaper in it's slow walk to the grave.

    --
    Mooniacs for iOS and Android
  3. Why should I pay for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Channels like HBO and Showtime offer all of their programming free to subscribers on Comcast In Demand.

    What makes time-shifting Survivor worth 99 cents when I can time-shift The Sopranos for free?

  4. Run it till the tires fall off... by gsfprez · · Score: 4, Insightful

    or until DirecTV cancels MPEG-2 service, but i tell you what, i'm going to run my hacked DirecTiVo until the wheels fall off - screw everyone else and their lameastic ideas.

    My Hacked DirecTiVo works 1 step simple to get any show i want with my iPod (now, with Video), doesn't cost me per play, works great with my Mac, and doesn't have any DRM.

    These things are going to be insanely valuable in years to come because of their incredible feature set, lack of DRM, and compatibility with so many other devices.

    meanwhile, newer systems are going to be less and less useful and less interesting to me. HDTV doesn't make my skirt fly up compared to a well written show or good coverage of a hockey game... neither of which requires higher resolution.

    --
    guns kill people like spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat.
  5. 99 cents WITH commercials by mmeister · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is proof that the Networks still don't understand this whole "internet" thing at all.

    1. While downloading for iPod is mentioned in the article, NBC and CBS are referring to OnDemand (same ol' crap that cable companies have been pushing for years) with their set top boxes.

    2. The article says that 99 cents is the cost, but it includes commercials. So you're paying $1 to watch a free show WITH commercials.

    3. NBC still believes there "aren't enough protections" to put their content on the internet.

    These guys don't realize that their shows are mediocre at best and placing any higher threshold on watching them will actually DECREASE viewers, not increase it. I'm not going to pay extra to watch a show with commercials (which you probably can't skip).

    Apple's solution for $1.99 adds the benefit of watching it where you want and without commercials. It's great for the occasional missed episode that I can catch up with while traveling.

    I've never used OnDemand TV (whether Cable or Satellite) and this won't be any different.

  6. TiVO Anyone by queenb**ch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why pay to watch it once when you can just TiVO it and be done? Maybe this is what the broadcast flag thing is all about. All TV will become pay-per-view.

    DUH!

    2 cents,

    Queen B

    --
    HDGary secures my bank :/
    1. Re:TiVO Anyone by IdleTime · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I honestly don't know many if any shows that I would want to watch over and over and over again.

      I have a DVR with my cable subscription and I basically use it to record shows that I watch at a more convienient time and then delete the show. If you need to watch the same show over and over again, you are like my daughter when she was 4, couldn't wrestle certain VHS tapes away from her.

      Again, why do you need to save a show and watch it 100 times over? That sounds more like a mental issue than a practical one.

      --
      If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
  7. You need to have one already. by pavon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am getting excited about the shift towards internet viewing, and would actually prefer cheap rental over buying for video, and as a consumer don't really care about rented material being highly DRM'ed (purchased is anothering).

    But this particular service isn't all that exciting. You need to have DirectTV's or Comcast's DVR already in order to use the service. That means that I could have been recording these shows and watching them whenever I wanted.

    The price wouldn't be too bad on it's own. I figure that reasonable internet rental prices prices are $0.50 for a 20 minute show, $1.00 for a 40 minute show, and $2.00 for a movie. But this is on top of the $50-70 dollars that you are already paying for cable or satelite. I have already payed to watch these shows, I am not going to pay again.

  8. Re:Coming About by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Oh how wrong you are.

    They're turning alright... Just in the other direction. This is the first step towards requiring payment for timeshifting. Want to record that show to your DVR or VCR? You have to pay. This is the beginning of the networks trying to get people back in their seats watching only one show in any particular prime time slot so their current ratings and advertisment rate paridigm will continue to work. You're *not* the customer, you're the product, and your eyes are being sold to the advertizers.