Apple announces "Multi-pass" service

Apple iTunes will start selling new television shows on a monthly flat fee basis. Called "Multi-Pass" the new plan allows users to buy next month’s television shows for a flat $9.99 or pay $1.99 for each daily episode. Initially, popular television shows like Desperate Housewives, Lost and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will be offered, but presumably others will be added in the future.

The new plan can’t really be considered a subscription plan, something Apple has resisted in implementing in the past. Buyers can cancel at any time and are just buying the opportunity to download videos in the future. For some shows, like The Daily Show with 16 episodes a month, the Multi-Pass plan could offer substantial savings over buying them one by one. The videos will be available for download after the shows have been broadcasted on live television.

Once downloaded, the videos can be played on either the ipod portable player or on the personal computer.