On Tuesday, Apple and HBO struck a deal to offer popular cable programs for purchase and download at Apple's iTunes Store.
New HBO programs on iTunes include the Emmy Award-winning programs The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood and Rome, as well as other hits like Flight of the Conchords and The Wire.
"We're thrilled to bring this incredible lineup of programming from HBO to the iTunes Store," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "These are some of the most talked-about television shows ever, as well as some of the most requested by our customers."
HBO's Sexy Timing
That last statement is telling. It reveals that Apple is listening to its customers -- and so is HBO. And the timing is also no accident. Sex and the City: The Movie premieres in theaters on May 30, and in preparation for the movie's debut fans can choose any or all 94 episodes from the entire six seasons of the program.
HBO's deal with Apple is a marketing opportunity that could pay dividends on the big screen and the small screen. Television shows can be viewed on a Mac or a PC, iPod nano with video, iPod classic, iPod touch, fifth-generation iPod, iPhone or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.
iTunes customers can choose to purchase individual episodes or entire seasons of their favorite HBO programs, which are now in iTunes' catalog with more than 200,000 episodes of more than 800 shows. iTunes has sold more than 150 million episodes of television programs to date. What's different in this deal is that HBO's programs will be available at the same time DVDs of television shows are released, according to news reports. Apple could not immediately be reached to confirm the distribution timing.
The pricing paradigm is of interest in the HBO deal. While...

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