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Apple Rolls Out 'Complete My Season Pass' for TV Shows
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Elbon
macrumors 6502a
Echoing what others have already said:
1) Some shows are not available for streaming.
2) No ads
3) I can watch the shows on my TV (via AppleTV) rather than on my laptop
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If you are able to watch the show on TV, why would you need to buy a season pass? I buy shows from iTunes that I don't get on TV (I don't have cable, just Tivo and an antenna).
AndyR
macrumors 6502a
Not everyone lives in the USA with all the streaming options which come with that.
charlituna
macrumors G3
That would be nice. Also an TV plus where you can upgrade previous SD purchases to HD for the difference.
Not to mention all shows at HD.
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Some of us don't have cable but we buy our handful of cable shows via itunes
I dont see how this saves money at all, unless you watch very few shows.
Lets say each season lasts for 5 months, 20 episode average once a week. My bill is $60 a month for TV (Comcast, not an introductory rate, full on price for 2nd tier tv, internet extra, I dont know where people are getting $100 for tv unless they are getting HBO and the garbage package with such hits as The Knitting Channel and MTV13), so thats $300 for a seasons worth of programming for as many shows as I want during that period.
After counting all the shows that I would not want to miss during the fall season I got 7, those are just the ones I dont want to miss, there are many others I could live without but still watch when nothing else is on. Thats $224 worth of itunes downloads for 5 months of content.
That savings sucks when you consider it doesnt include all the other shows I would watch with normal cable. Add just a couple more "must haves" and you are no longer saving money. Now throw in a family with differing tastes like kids programming and it becomes WAY more expensive than cable.
Buying shows simply is not the future, its not cost effective except for the people who watch a below average amount of TV. TV is meant for the subscription model, Netflix and Hulu have it right, Apple isnt going anywhere with video until they get a subscription service going. I think if Apple were to offer an expensive subscription service, like $30 a month then it would be a hit, theyd have way more leverage with shows than Netflix and Hulu at $8 and would still undercut cable significantly.
Lets say each season lasts for 5 months, 20 episode average once a week. My bill is $60 a month for TV (Comcast, not an introductory rate, full on price for 2nd tier tv, internet extra, I dont know where people are getting $100 for tv unless they are getting HBO and the garbage package with such hits as The Knitting Channel and MTV13), so thats $300 for a seasons worth of programming for as many shows as I want during that period.
After counting all the shows that I would not want to miss during the fall season I got 7, those are just the ones I dont want to miss, there are many others I could live without but still watch when nothing else is on. Thats $224 worth of itunes downloads for 5 months of content.
That savings sucks when you consider it doesnt include all the other shows I would watch with normal cable. Add just a couple more "must haves" and you are no longer saving money. Now throw in a family with differing tastes like kids programming and it becomes WAY more expensive than cable.
Buying shows simply is not the future, its not cost effective except for the people who watch a below average amount of TV. TV is meant for the subscription model, Netflix and Hulu have it right, Apple isnt going anywhere with video until they get a subscription service going. I think if Apple were to offer an expensive subscription service, like $30 a month then it would be a hit, theyd have way more leverage with shows than Netflix and Hulu at $8 and would still undercut cable significantly.
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Amazon also isn't available outside of the US. In fact our only legitimate options are Netflix and iTunes.
jbachandouris
macrumors 603
Doesn't seem to be working for Doctor Who for me. I bought Season 6 Part 1, but Part 2 doesn't offer the 'complete season' offer. Maybe I need to purchase at least one episode of Part 2.
Its still cheaper than the DVD's ($50+ at Best Buy). $17 for Part 1 and $17 for part 2=$34.
Its still cheaper than the DVD's ($50+ at Best Buy). $17 for Part 1 and $17 for part 2=$34.
I do occasionally. The main reason for me is to have a copy I can watch offline, for instance when I'm on a plane or to bring with me on my iPad on an overseas vacation. Also if it's something I really like then I might like to own a copy to rewatch whenever I want.
But I'd agree, at home there is plenty of streaming content to watch, on Netflix, on-demand cable, etc.
charlituna
macrumors G3
Let us know when you have the show written, sold and it's in production. Cause I'm sure we'll all want to tune in and see it.
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Part 1 and Part 2 are considered two different seasons for this type of game. so yeah, you need to buy an ep in part 2
Dr. Who???
You guys do know that you can view Dr. Who episodes for free (at least they appear to be) on BBC America don't you?? Just asking..... http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/guide/
You guys do know that you can view Dr. Who episodes for free (at least they appear to be) on BBC America don't you?? Just asking..... http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/guide/
Scarpad
macrumors 68020
I buy classic tv on DVD mostly, not all that many recent shows, mainly because I love classic tv. I'm more likely to sit down and rewatch episodes of Green Acres or Dick Van Dyke, than today's Highly Serialized shows that require you to watch a whole season. Exceptions are stuff like Big Bang Theory, but that I'd rather get on Blu Ray once the prce drops than Apples grossly inflated season passes.
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well the other shoe that drops is that all series are presented in Hi Def Now, but many like Warehouse 13, Castle, Stargate Universe etc are not offered on Blu Ray only DVD, so for alot of shows its the only way to attain a legal Hi Def Copy.
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I agree it should be .99 cents an episode for HD, if it were I'd buy all my shows like that.
Elbon
macrumors 6502a
I just looked, and I didn't see any way to view full episodes on that site - only clips/trailers. But even if they did offer full shows, I'd still have to watch them on my laptop rather than my TV.
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I agree - 99 cents is the right price point for a one-hour show. I was disappointed that Apple stopped offering episode rentals at that price.
I think you are complicating it by looking on a season basis. You have $720 to work with every year if you cancel your $60 cable subscription. The average cost of a season on iTunes conservatively is $35. If you wait for discounts and deals it should be lower. It also depends on what you are interested in. Anyway, at $35 for a season, you could buy about 20 seasons worth of programming in a year ((60*12)/35). If you add in Hulu and/or Netflix to supplement, you can increase the number of watchable seasons in a year.
Also, there is extra value in those purchases. There are no ads, and you aren't paying a dime to rewatch them. There's no contract. No poorly designed hardware you pay through the nose for. And, they are much more portable.
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Does not work in Canada
Bought two Breaking Bad season 4 episodes via apple TV yesterday.
Tried to buy the rest via iTunes store but it says "there will be duplicates". No mention of a "complete my season pass" price.
Cancelled - will wait a few days hoping this rolls out in Canada.
Bought two Breaking Bad season 4 episodes via apple TV yesterday.
Tried to buy the rest via iTunes store but it says "there will be duplicates". No mention of a "complete my season pass" price.
Cancelled - will wait a few days hoping this rolls out in Canada.
But can you get each episode the day after it airs or do you have to wait until after the season is over (often months later)?
Is this 'Complete My Season' limited to selected TV Shows?
I bought 7 episodes of Lost, Season 2 awhile ago. Would like to complete the season. But I only saw Lost, Season 3. How are we reminded whether we want to complete the season? Really confused on this iTunes offer.
I bought 7 episodes of Lost, Season 2 awhile ago. Would like to complete the season. But I only saw Lost, Season 3. How are we reminded whether we want to complete the season? Really confused on this iTunes offer.
charlituna
macrumors G3
That depends on the show. Broadcast stations like ABC, CBS it's generally the day after (at like 1am). But cable shows tend to be when the DVD set comes out
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Yep. And most of those are the current season. Which makes sense if they are using the numbers to complement the ratings
Eventually this could roll to all seasons of all shows.
Thanks. Read about this too as I was searching for more info. But Lost, Season 3 isn't current. Wish iTunes would have rolled out everything. Bet it's the TV networks fault. Haven't seen much fans screaming where's Season 5 of Chuck.
On the UK store that link shows a grand total of a dozen shows 🙁
- The Wire S5
- LOST S3
- Gossip Girl S5
- Southpark S11 (uncensored)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender S3
- The West Wing S1
- Friends S1
- The Scooby-Doo Show S1
- Firefly S1
- SpongeBob SquarePants S1
- Planet Earth S1
- The Vampire Diaries S3
I just decided to buy Episode 1 of Heroes Season 1, which was £1.89 (SD), and since we liked it considered buying the whole season - but the price is still unchanged at £19.99 (SD). And it didn't seem to have subtitles... might just buy the DVD instead.
😕
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charlituna
macrumors G3
Of course it is (well the networks and the studios in combo). They are the ones that have the IP control over the material. Apple can only post what the networks allow when they allow it. Which is why you have HBO holding their stuff until the DVDs come out, CBS etc not posting all of their current stuff and so on.
My guess is that this is in the testing stage much like the whole rental idea. So we get a handful of current shows and a handful of older seasons on popular stuff and they are waiting to see if enough folks actually use the feature to make it worth adding some more titles. With luck they will and it will keep rolling until it's everything
Is this not available for all TV shows? I am still showing the full price on a season where I bought some of the episodes. When I tried to buy the season again I got a warning that I already bought some of the episodes and this would result in duplicates.
trainwrecka
macrumors 6502a
Don't have cable, so a lot of shows I don't get to test the water with. I've been burned a few times taking people's word for it on how great a show is, getting the season pass, and getting 2 episodes in and deleting it.
Rojo
macrumors 65816
NOT saying "Complete my season" for me...
Ok, so I ended up buying most episodes of Downton Abbey Season 2 individually, and I only have the final episode (the Christmas Special) left to watch. Then I remembered seeing there was a "Complete My Season" option for TV shows.
But when I go to the landing page for this show, it just says "Buy Season Pass" for the full price of $19.99. From everything I read online, it's supposed to give the remaining cost of the season, minus what I've already bought -- in this case, it SHOULD read $0.00. But it doesn't...
I figured maybe it was a glitch, and that once I tried buying it, it would let me know that I was "completing my season" and that I would be charged nothing.
Nope -- at least three times, a warning prompt popped up. I kept getting "are you sure you want to buy Season 2?" and "you will be charged full price" and finally something like "you've already bought some of the episodes. You will be charged, get duplicates, etc....."
So WTF? I thought maybe Downton Abbey wasn't one of the TV shows offered -- but then I went to the Complete My Season iTunes link that someone gave earlier in this thread -- and the show IS listed there.
I REALLY don't want to get charged the full price and receive duplicate episodes, but every indication is making it clear that I will -- despite Downton Abbey supposedly being one of the TV shows offered as eligible for Complete My Season. I'm sure if I WAS charged, I could complain and get my money back -- but that's always a big pain in the ass, and I don't want to have to go through with all that hassle if I don't need to.
So has anyone else gone through something similar, and perhaps went all the way ahead with the download to see what happened?
Ok, so I ended up buying most episodes of Downton Abbey Season 2 individually, and I only have the final episode (the Christmas Special) left to watch. Then I remembered seeing there was a "Complete My Season" option for TV shows.
But when I go to the landing page for this show, it just says "Buy Season Pass" for the full price of $19.99. From everything I read online, it's supposed to give the remaining cost of the season, minus what I've already bought -- in this case, it SHOULD read $0.00. But it doesn't...
I figured maybe it was a glitch, and that once I tried buying it, it would let me know that I was "completing my season" and that I would be charged nothing.
Nope -- at least three times, a warning prompt popped up. I kept getting "are you sure you want to buy Season 2?" and "you will be charged full price" and finally something like "you've already bought some of the episodes. You will be charged, get duplicates, etc....."
So WTF? I thought maybe Downton Abbey wasn't one of the TV shows offered -- but then I went to the Complete My Season iTunes link that someone gave earlier in this thread -- and the show IS listed there.
I REALLY don't want to get charged the full price and receive duplicate episodes, but every indication is making it clear that I will -- despite Downton Abbey supposedly being one of the TV shows offered as eligible for Complete My Season. I'm sure if I WAS charged, I could complain and get my money back -- but that's always a big pain in the ass, and I don't want to have to go through with all that hassle if I don't need to.
So has anyone else gone through something similar, and perhaps went all the way ahead with the download to see what happened?