TV Episodes on iTunes: Worst Value Since The 8-Track

February, 24, 2010 11:11 am | On #iTunes, Television

According to a number of press reports, Apple has been pressuring the television studios to move the price point on many of their individual TV episodes on iTunes from $1.99 to 99 cents. The hope is that the move will increase sales, thus helping the adoption of Apple's new iPad.

Aside from the obvious question of whether the studios should be helping Apple to build a dominant position in the tablet market, the studios should also keep another issue in mind as they decide on the pricing sweet spot for those individual episodes of "The Office" and "Gossip Girl."
 
While it is a convenient way to catch up with your favorite shows, it's hard to find a bigger waste of your media buying budget than when you buy a TV episode from iTunes.
Unlike when you purchase a DVD, you are buying a file which can't be resold. It can't...
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In Defense of 'The Jay Leno Show'

October, 25, 2009 12:05 pm | On #jay leno

When it comes to the world of television critics, admitting a fondness for Jay Leno gets you about the same street cred as arguing that "Coach" was the funniest TV comedy of the past 30 years. At best, your fellow critics are going to think you're misguided. At worst, they'll think you're an idiot.

Despite all of that peer pressure, I find myself jumping to the defense of Jay Leno and his controversial primetime talk show. Not because I think it's the best idea of the season, but because I think a lot of the criticism being tossed his way is misguided and ill-informed.

Leno has often been knocked not for what he does, but for who he's not. Critics dislike the guy because he's not David Letterman, because he's seen as a go-along company man and because many industry people feel he didn't deserve the mantle as head of "The Tonight Show."

But...

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Rick Ellis is a journalist currently living in the Twin Cities. He has written about television and the media business for more than a decade. His reporting has been cited in Vanity Fair, The Nation, The Washington Post and a number of other media outlets, as well as in more than a dozen books.

He is the founder and managing editor of AllYourTV.com.

Previously, Rick spent 10 years as a stand-up comedian, four years as a syndicated radio talk show host and five years as an editor for Internet Broacasting, a company that manages websites for local television affiliates. As the managing editor of an NBCOO website, he led it to a Regional Murrow Award.

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TV Episodes on iTunes: Worst Value Since The 8-Track
In Defense of 'The Jay Leno Show'
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