Apple is currently negotiating with HBO to sell movies and programs from the pay-cable network on its iTunes web site. Wired.com is reporting that executives from Apple have confirmed the two companies are in negotiations and nearing a deal to secure HBO programming for iTunes.
This is just the latest in a string of good fortune for iTunes, which as of February this year became the largest music retailer in the United States, surpassing even Wal-Mart. And even though iTunes is facing increasing competition in its downloadable music department from Amazon.com and others, the company is continuing to expand its offerings to include more video, television and film programming.
The inclusion of HBO’s acclaimed miniseries’, film’s and comedy specials should be a big draw for iTunes, though it will be a few weeks before the HBO content is available, according to insiders.
Details of the iTunes-HBO agreement are still sketchy, but it appears that HBO has negotiated a higher price for their content than other films and television shows available on iTunes. This will be the first time that iTunes has deviated from their flat fee for video content. The company normally charges $1.99 for all titles. Clearly, HBO successfully lobbied to receive a larger cut for their programs.
Other networks have failed to convince iTunes to raise their standard $1.99 fee, including NBC, which withdrew its content from iTunes last year after the company refused to negotiate a higher fee for NBC programs.
On the rebound, NBC made a deal with Microsoft to feature its programs on their Zune web site. In hindsight though, this appears to have been a strategic mistake for NBC; Zune has never really taken off with the public, and continues to be trampled by iTunes in both popularity and profitability.
Perhaps HBO was able to succeed where NBC failed because of the quality of its programs. The network has produced scores of award-winning and critically acclaimed miniseries, comedy specials and weekly talk shows, such as “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “The Chris Rock Show.”
The new HBO deal should also help Apple increase sales of its struggling Apple TV device. The unit allows users to instantly rent and buy content online and have it sent directly to their television for viewing, instead of using the computer.
HBO also stands to benefit from the arrangement. The network has a large back catalogue of programs that could prove profitable on iTunes. And of course, HBO’s recent offerings, such as the critically acclaimed “John Adams” or “Rome” miniseries’ should also be big hits online.
While details of the deal have not been revealed, for now, it appears that HBO and Apple have negotiated a win-win agreement. The biggest winners, though, are the viewers, who will soon have a greater choice of quality films and programs to choose from on iTunes.
