Apple is working on ways to bring the price of video down, including advertising in the download in exchange for a lower price point. Image courtesy of Apple.
There are new reports about an Apple patent which may go hand in hand with their push for cheaper TV content. Currently, standard definition episodes are generally $1.99, the same price they’ve been since they debuted, and high-definition content is $2.99. Occasionally, the shows go on sale, but for the most part, that’s the price.
Apple, however, has been looking for ways to either get the price of a standard-definition show down to 99 cents an episode, or to get a TV subscription model started, say at $30 a month. Obviously, this is a key selling point for the iPad, so it’s understandable that getting video content more readily available an adopted by the masses would be a high priority. Enter advertising.
The patent would allow for insertion of ads into their downloadable content, just as you’d see ads in Hulu content. It might make it more fathomable for content producers to take a hit on the purchase price if ads were embedded, might be a passable trade-off for consumers in lieu of a higher price point, and might be the proper hybrid that gets this off the ground.
SOURCE: Patently Apple via 9to5Mac via Gizmodo
