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Q?: What would you pay to download your TV shows?

Chip NoVaMac

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Original poster
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
I missed a TV show due to work schedules and lack of a VCR option. A friend sent me the episode that he captured off of Sat-TV (forget about the right and wrong of that act for the time being).

It got me thinking about video-on-demand services and high-speed internet. What would you be willing to pay for commercial free downloads of your favorite TV shows?

For me it would be in the range of 25 to 50 cents for a half hour show, and 50 to 75 cents for an hour long show. Any "TV movie" like the recent "Mayday" would be 75 cents to 1 dollar.

If they wanted the commercials in the show, I might be willing to go 10 cents to 50 cents per a download depending on the length of the show.

What do you all think?
 
well if we are talking about downloading anime tv shows which DVDs normally cost 25-30 dollars for 3-5 episodes i would have no problem paying 3-5 dollars to download an episode

EDIT: oh yes i would want to have the option to download either Subbed or Dubbed episodes
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
I missed a TV show due to work schedules and lack of a VCR option.
Click to expand...

VCR??? :confused:

Chip NoVaMac said:
A friend sent me the episode that he captured off of Sat-TV (forget about the right and wrong of that act for the time being).

It got me thinking about video-on-demand services and high-speed internet. What would you be willing to pay for commercial free downloads of your favorite TV shows?

For me it would be in the range of 25 to 50 cents for a half hour show, and 50 to 75 cents for an hour long show. Any "TV movie" like the recent "Mayday" would be 75 cents to 1 dollar.

If they wanted the commercials in the show, I might be willing to go 10 cents to 50 cents per a download depending on the length of the show.

What do you all think?
Click to expand...

Seems a little low. Sence on iTunes your willing to pay a $0.99/song, I would think $1.49/26 minute show. $1.99/52 minute show. $2.99/TV Movie(or rental, something like napster music thing), $9.99/Movie
 
I'd be willing to pay, but I'm not really sure how much. $5 or lower seems reasonable, depending on the quality.

Whould have to be 5.1 audio and HD video, preferably H.264 or XviD/DivX.

No commercials.

Cross-platform. Windows/OS X/Linux minimum. No weirdo plugins and formats.

No DRM. Uhm, well I guess that kind of ruins the whole deal for me. I don't see them doing this without some form of it. I might be willing to accept it if it were easily breakable.
 
$1.99 flat rate for TV shows, $4.99 for movies. I can already "rent" a movie for $3.99 on my satellite, so I guess I'd pay a dollar more to be able to watch it when ever I want. I don't want to pay too much for severely DRM'd content. They act like we're doing them a favor :rolleyes:
 
I've been advocating this for a long time. If the networks would just make the shows available after the last time-zone airs the show for $1 per hour (I don't think the iTunes comparison is valid since people pay for their music regardless, however the major networks are free to watch so people are not used to paying for it).

I've downloaded shows many times now due to power/cable outages or just weather interfering with the satellite dish we got in May. Most recently I had to do it with Lost when a storm came through and knocked out our power until 15 minutes into the show and the TIVO recording was messed up due to the rain after we had power back. I would have gladly paid for the show from ABC's website however since that was not an option and Lost is one of those shows where a missed week can set you way back, I had no other option other than not watching any more of the season and renting/buying the DVD set for season 2 next summer, neither of which was desirable. Sure I could have asked around for anyone who might have taped it but would it have been any different from what I did (other than being more work for me)?
 
Given the "quality" of a download even with H264, I wouldn't pay allot. Maybe $5-$10 AUD for a whole season of a TV show available as soon as it screens in the USA. Add free, no watermarks or other intrusion. Pretty much what you get with a DVD. I say this figure given the DVDs when available will likely have outtakes, commentries and behind the scenes stuff.

As for movies. If available right away (USA release) I would want a really good quality download - says 2 Gig. I figure that the price of a normal movie ticket if I can keep this would be about right, but probably less given the quality is not going to be as good as the cinema.
 
$2-$5 depending on the show, I'd accept a couple of minutes of commercials at the beginning and end, but not in the middle, and I'd accept DRM.

I would pay up to $10 for a movie, wait, make that $15.
 
If Apple made the video iPod and the main thing the iTunes Video Store sold was commercial-free TV shows, that would be great. Selling 30 minute to 1 hour TV shows feels much more feasible and better suited for an iPod's small screen.

But, it seems like TV shows are banking on DVD sales these days with their $40 season box sets. A video iPod doesn't really have a place, in my opinion considering DVD sales seem to do well for both TV and movies. A bit OT, I know, but I think this connects well with the video iPod.

Curios: Even if you could download a show for a buck or two, would you still buy season box set DVDs?
 
No more than 2 dollars for an hour-long show. And no more than $4 for a made-for-TV movie.
 
Are we talking permanent downloads or pay-per-view? Would I be able to burn these do DVD? For one time views, probably only about $.50 a show (half hour). If I got to keep it (with no DRM!!!-sorry wishful thinking :rolleyes: ), probably $1-2.

From a realistic standpoint, this would be extremely tough to implement, IMO. First they would be all worried about piracy, and we would get all angry about how they limit our usage, even for legal uses. Next is the whole deal with advertising. How would this work? Would it be entirely add placement? That could actually be worse and more intrusive than regular ads. Maybe the tv shows would get a kick back from the cable companies from download fees. Also, would this all be on top of your monthly cable bill? My comcast bill is high enough as it is.
 
rockthecasbah said:
nothing beats watching on an actual TV...i wouldn't buy them to download.
Click to expand...

and when your TV show doesn't play in america?

and costs you 30 dollars for 3 episodes, i think you would then want to download for a bit cheaper
 
I don't know, depends on the DRM. I really hate the DRM crap, I understand it but doesn't mean I have to like it and often would rather go without or buy the DVD/CD. Going through a whole process with the DRM when I have a computer crash or do one of my regular reinstall Windows (faster connection than my ibook or Toshiba laptop and faster DVD/CD burner).
 
I'd pay no more than $1 for a half hour show with DRM and commercials. $3 or so for no DRM and no commercials. Also, it needs to be easily burnable on a DVD for playback in a traditional DVD player. iTMS songs can be burned to a CD, a pay-per-download for movies should be burnable to DVD.

I just can't pay much more than a few dollars because this is something that's normally free. It's not like music where your only 2 legal options are to buy the physical CD or buy the digital music. With TV, one of your legal options is free, so you should just be paying for the convienence of watching when you want.
 
Not a single penny.

Think about it. If I can watch the show on my TV without paying extra, why would I pay to download it on my computer?

Just because a different device is playing it doesn't mean it should cost.

That's like saying "The Zennith in my living room lets me watch shows for free...but I have to pay $3 per show on the Phillips in the den."

Doesn't make a bit of sense.

Now, for full-length movies/DVDs then I would say $10-$15 is a fair price.

The point of computers is to make our lives better and more convienent. Making it so that users have to pay for something they normally get for free just because they aquire it with a computer defeats that purpose entirely.
 
Josh said:
Not a single penny.

Think about it. If I can watch the show on my TV without paying extra, why would I pay to download it on my computer?
Click to expand...

Well I can't, because many of the shows I want to see doesn't show up on the TV here. That, and I watch so little TV anyway that I'll likely not buy a new one when/if my current one fails. Just paying to see for the things I want to see is much better IMO.
 
The problem with TV is that I really only watch if I have one - if I don't, I don't watch. The only thing I really use it for is to watch movies and play NCAA/Madden. So, I really wouldn't pay anything for commercials-included DL - it's not like I'm missing anything. If it were commercial free? Maybe $1. For a major event (like this year when the two with whom I've suffered for almost 20 years redeem themselves in their respective championships) I'd pay a little more, but that is b/c it would be a souvenier. For example, I will not buy the iTMS DL from SB XIL.

My fear is that selling TV online could leave to a TV tax on boxes, like what I'm under the impression you have in the UK. MAybe I'm wrong. If not, could someone explain it?
 
w_parietti22 said:
VCR??? :confused:

Seems a little low. Sence on iTunes your willing to pay a $0.99/song, I would think $1.49/26 minute show. $1.99/52 minute show. $2.99/TV Movie(or rental, something like napster music thing), $9.99/Movie
Click to expand...

Don't have a VCR now, and really want to wait out the HDTV thing till all stations are required to go with it; before going out and buying some other type of recorder.

For me since I moved, I find TV not being as much a factor since my breakup. Used to love the Apprentice, but have not see one show this season so far. And guess what I don't miss it.

The reason for the low pricing on my part was to maybe drive me to buy more downloads of shows that I might pass by under my thoughts. Given that I have an Epson P-2000, it would be great to get files that would be compatible with that viewer.

atszyman said:
I've been advocating this for a long time. If the networks would just make the shows available after the last time-zone airs the show for $1 per hour (I don't think the iTunes comparison is valid since people pay for their music regardless, however the major networks are free to watch so people are not used to paying for it).

I've downloaded shows many times now due to power/cable outages or just weather interfering with the satellite dish we got in May. Most recently I had to do it with Lost when a storm came through and knocked out our power until 15 minutes into the show and the TIVO recording was messed up due to the rain after we had power back. I would have gladly paid for the show from ABC's website however since that was not an option and Lost is one of those shows where a missed week can set you way back, I had no other option other than not watching any more of the season and renting/buying the DVD set for season 2 next summer, neither of which was desirable. Sure I could have asked around for anyone who might have taped it but would it have been any different from what I did (other than being more work for me)?
Click to expand...


Like your thoughts here. I felt guilty in getting the show from a friend through channels that are not really legal. I guess one reason I thought of low pricing is that I had no desire to keep that show after I watched it. In my case I deleted it after viewing. There would be cases like series finales (Rosanne, Drew Carey, Bob Newhart, and the such), that a very low cost would make me more likely to do a download.
 
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