Apple has upped the stakes in the web loungeroom battle by slashing the price of its TV device and announcing 99-cent downloads for shows.
Hours after Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s new pitch Wednesday, online retailer Amazon cut the prices of its TV shows to 99 cents as well.
In what is becoming a frantic battle for the internet TV market, Apple cut the price of its TV hard drive from $229 to $99.
It will offer TV shows available for download from ABC, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC the day after being broadcast, as well as content from Netflix, yet another company pushing into the online movie business.
Amazon matched Apple's price for TV shows from ABC, Fox and the BBC, reported the Wall Street Journal.
While Jobs said he expected other media companies to “get on board,” most of the large TV content owners have already refused to sell to Apple TV on its current terms.
“NBC Universal, Time Warner Inc. and CBS Corp., turned down Apple's new pricing options and don't expect to sign up for TV-show rentals as currently configured,” the Journal said, quoting un-named sources.