TiVo Apple Multipass!

So Apple is going to start selling monthly subscriptions to TV shows on iTunes via a new service called "Multi-Pass". They're starting with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for $9.99/month (16 episodes) - which works out to a tad more than $.62 per episode, compared to $1.99 a la carte. (Reuters reports that Apple has sold more than 8 million videos since they started selling them late last year - and BTW, did you know that Apple ranks #10 in storage sales?)

Meanwhile, TiVo has announced that they will offer a new subscription plan (exclusively via TiVo.com) giving customers the choice of paying a higher monthly fee in exchange for no upfront charge for an 80-hour TiVo DVR - effectively letting customers ammortize the cost of the hardware. Plus, the longer you commit to TiVo, the lower your bundled monthly fee will be (ranging from $20/month for one year to $17/month for three years, compared to the standard $13/month). This is actually a very good deal, but unfortunately they're also quietly eliminating their best deal; starting next week, the $299 product lifetime subscription option will no longer be offered, so grab it quick if you want it! (BTW, AP reports that TiVo now has 4.4 subscribers.)