It appears that HBO has finally given Steve Jobs an offer he couldn't refuse; bending the long held one price for everything structure of iTunes to allow such programs as The Sopranos, Rome, and Deadwood to be sold for $2.99 per episode.

Other HBO properties such as Sex in the City, The Wire, and Flight of the Conchords will also be available for download on iPhones, iPods, and the web, but for the traditional iTunes price of $1.99 per episode.

While I don't have a problem with the broad stokes of the arrangement, the details confuse me. For instance, why aren't all the half hour comedies priced at $1.99 and the hour dramas priced at $2.99? The Wire is both an hour long and one of the most critically acclaimed programs in the history of television; to offer it up at a comparative discount seems like HBO devaluing it's own library of content.

Additional, while it seems inevitable that Apple would eventually break with the $1.99 for everything gimmick, I can't help but wondering if it would have made a bigger impact if they had announced the change with original content.

Director's commentaries on The Sopranos, or additional songs from The Flight of the Conchords, would give consumers something to show for that extra dollar.

Via