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Leave it to the network that brought us Tony Soprano to break Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes video pricing model.
The Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) subsidiary and Apple on Tuesday announced that some HBO programming is now available at the online store, with a few shows priced at US$2.99 per episode.
Apple is selling episodes of "Sex and the City," "The Wire" and "Flight of the Conchords" for $1.99 each; episodes of "The Sopranos," "Deadwood" and "Rome" are priced at $2.99. The company is also offering entire seasons of these shows for sale.
Absent from the early lineup are popular shows such as "Entourage," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Big Love"; however, all of HBO's shows will be available on iTunes in the next several months, HBO spokesperson Jeff Cusson told MacNewsWorld.
Late to the Party
Apple has sold more than 150 million television episodes through the iTunes Store, which features a catalog of more than 800 shows (20,000-plus episodes) from almost all of the major networks and many cable channels as well. HBO has been notable for its absence.
HBO has not only kept iTunes at arm's length -- it has dragged its feet on offering any content downloads. The network finally joined the party in January with the announcement of HBO on Broadband, which is currently available only to Wisconsin Time Warner Cable customers.
NBC is another iTunes exception, but its case is one of abandonment rather than resistance. The network removed its programming from the online store last fall following a disagreement over pricing.
HBO apparently succeeded -- to a degree -- where NBC failed. Although the $2.99 per episode price it secured is definitely a premium compared to the typical $1.99 cost for a TV show on iTunes, it's not as big a leap for the Apple store as NBC's proposed $4.99 price tag would have been.
NBC has since signed a distribution deal 
with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to sell its shows for about $2 apiece at the Zune Marketplace. It also offers its shows for download at
Hulu.com.
SATC Media Blitz
HBO's announcement of the iTunes deal comes just ahead of the release of "Sex and the City: The Movie" on May 30. The timing is part of an effort to elevate buzz and steer more people into theaters.
"Whether catching up on 'Sex and the City' in anticipation of its upcoming movie release or reliving a favorite 'Sopranos' episode, we think viewers will love being able to watch these shows on their iPod or iPhone," commented Henry McGee, president of HBO Video.
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