piratebay. Really, forcing a PPV model on a TV series just doesn't cut it.

They said the same thing in the 70's when cable was up and coming. "Who wants to pay for TV when we get it for free already?"

Cable was supposed to be subscription based and free from advertising... we all know how that went.

Let's just all hope the PPV model doesn't get crammed up with adverts as well.

There are a few problems with this approach:

- how many people have their computers connected to their TVs?

- you're stuck to watching the show via iTunes / Quicktime only - People that prefer other media centre software (e.g. the excellent Plex) are out of luck due to the DRM

- since the shows are DRMed you can't burn them to DVDs and gaining a broader audience

I think the idea is great though, but the issues above should also be addressed.

The decision marks one of the first instances of a well-known television show to diverge from standard business models.

All it means is that the producers didn't get the deal they wanted from CTV, but did from Apple.

And this is only new to TV Series (kind of). There's been many a movie that has gone 'straight to video'.

And there have been shows whose initial distribution has been the web.

Cable was supposed to be subscription based and free from advertising... we all know how that went.

Cable was NEVER supposed to be 'free from advertising'. One of the initial reasons people got cable was because they didn't want stupid antennas on their houses, or, even if they did, couldn't get any channels.

Cable has been around since the 50s (yes, it has) and it always has had commercials. The only networks that came about without commercials tend to be the pay channels like HBO and Craptime... uh, I mean Showtime.

I can only think of one network that doesn't show commercials that isn't 'pay'. TCM.

Let's just all hope the PPV model doesn't get crammed up with adverts as well.

Oh, it will. Don't you concern yourself about that. They show commercials before movies (always have, though people thought it was OK when it was just 'trailers'). They added commercials to DVDs (really annoying for something you paid a butt-load for). They certainly will start adding commercials to stuff on iTunes or the like once their profits start leveling off from sales.

h***, just look how sports have become so ad-ridden.

Well lets just hope that this follows for folks like us in Australia. It does make sense that this is a great model for the future. The money flows to the people who make great shows. I for one would be happy to subscribe to HBO, for example with the promise of no ads and a fair fee to watch any of their shows on demand.
The ABC in Oz has a great service called iView which works extremely well on an ADSL 2 connection.

The future is hurtling down the tracks the broadcasters have to catch up or end up like the record companies, largely irrelevant.
S.

The money flows to the people who make great shows.

Right. And that's what they said about the iTMS. And yet the money continues to flow to the labels, not the artists and writers.

The future is hurtling down the tracks the broadcasters have to catch up or end up like the record companies, largely irrelevant.

Irrelevant? I don't think so. You might hope for it, but it hasn't happened yet.

And just curious. How much do you think Apple paid them for this?