Hardware :: Apple Tables Push For TV Subscriptions On IPad, Seeks 99 Episodes?

Apple had high hopes of delivering an all-you-can-eat buffet of television shows in the form of a subscriptions service by the time its iPad hits the market next month, but opposition from networks has forced the company to adopt Plan B: a push towards lower pricing for a la carte downloads.

In an updated version of its report on Apple's scrambles to secure last-minute content licensing deals for the iPad, The Wall Street Journal cites people familiar with the matter as saying that electronics maker is now asking that television networks agree to drop the price of their episodes to $0.99, down from $1.99 and $2.99.

The concession on Apple's part comes after the majority balked at a more ambitious attempt by company to court its largest network partners into an all-inclusive subscription service, which would have offered iPad users broad access to the catalogs of many of their favorite programs for a set monthly fee, according to the paper.

Still, Apple's struggling to achieve the networks' approval, even with its pared back strategy. People speaking anonymously to the Journal say the content providers are weary of the strategy, fearing it could ultimately hurt their business and jeopardize "the tens of billions of dollars in subscription fees they are paid by cable and satellite companies for their traditional TV networks."