Cris Velasco is a writer who studied English language and marketing at Rutgers University and mobile enthusiasts. Once upon a time he was a News intern for MobileCrunch, and between them, he worked in wireless sales at best buy. After graduation, he returned to the new TechCrunch in mobile as a full-time writer. He counts the advertising works, musical theater ... ? Read More
Bad news for those looking to rent the latest episode of Top Gear from iTunes as Apple quickly and quietly removed their 99 ¢ TV Rental version today.
The functionality of Apple's interface disappeared from TV and iTunes store proper, marking a sharp shift in Apple's pricing policy. Selected episodes from the series can still be purchased as usual and rentals of the film remains the same is going to cost, so not every client will be crying over the loss of iTunes.
AppleInsider also found that supporting documents related to iTunes Rentals episode similarly were pulled, although cached versions can still be found for those who don't mind a little digging.
In an ideal world, this is not so subtle signal that Apple is looking at various ways of handling television distribution. Apple's big push in cross device music and app sharing with iCloud could be over, and the tenancy can reappear in a new format (and possibly a new price point), but with the ability to be pulled at any iDevice during the same period of 48 hours.
Alas, it's also completely within reason that factors such as powerhouse unrest forced Apple axe rental service. Large Studio scoffed at low price for iTunes Rentals episode with players like NBC Universal Jeff Zucker, saying that such a lease for 99 cents episode "devalues their content. Lease, to be fair, were not very affordable for people who have cable TV, but here's hoping that they live in the new shape.
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