Apple Discontinues $0.99 TV Show Rentals

Apple, after a long winding path and countless attempts has officially shut down and removed $0.99 TV show rentals from iTunes and Apple TV. In a direct statement to All Things D, Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr confirmed the removal of $0.99 TV Show Rentals, saying:

iTunes customers have shown they overwhelmingly prefer buying TV shows. iTunes in the Cloud lets customers download and watch their past TV purchases from their iOS devices, Apple TV, Mac or PC allowing them to enjoy their programming whenever and however they choose.

FOX also confirmed that Apple had taken such actions after seeing that it was a failing attempt to sell TV Shows and that Apple’s Cloud seemed like a much more reasonable outlet for content.

After carefully considering the results of the rental trial, it became clear that content ownership is a more attractive long-term value proposition both for iTunes customers and for our business. To further enhance the value of ownership, we are working with Apple to make content available within their new cloud-based service.

Apple revealed $0.99 TV Show Rentals with the introduction of their all new streaming Apple TV and failed to roll out the service to other countries beyond the US. Apple also failed to strike deals with other major US networks and could not expand the content within its service. Apple’s choice to shut it down makes more sense for its business model and could possibly lead to a better streaming service.

Perhaps, Apple’s goal with their Subscription model, with an addition of iCloud could help them achieve this. At this point, it is unclear what Apple is going to propose, but whatever it may be, something could definitely be in the works.

Would you buy a subscription if Apple offered content through iCloud? Do you think this is a good move? Did you ever rent $0.99 movies?

{via TiPb}

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