iTunes UK vs US

iTunes now comes with video capability. Which is super news for people like me who always end up missing episodes of popular TV shows. I missed season one of Lost because I left the UK before it had aired, while here in the US, it's on to season two already. Same thing with The West Wing, for which I've had to use the internet to fill huge plot gaps because I missed all of season five (they're on to season sever here, but Bravo is staging a marathon of season six, thank goodness).

Desperate Housewives is another popular TV series I watch occasionally, and it looks like iTunes (US) is offering 23 episodes for $34.99! And the most recent episodes at $1.99 each! Yes, entire episodes for under two bucks... How on earth are they managing that? After all, to buy an entire season of any TV series on DVD usually costs 30 quid for a pack of two to four episodes in UK shops.

What's even more unbelievable is the discrepancy in pricing between the US and the UK yet again. When iTunes (UK) first opened, they charged us one quid for a song that only cost one buck in the States. Bearing in mind that the exchange rate fluctuates around the 60 pence to a buck ratio, that's a 30 percent mark-up for iTunes (UK). The greedy arses are doing it again with the videos, charging 1.89 UKP per video, and not releasing episodes of TV shows.

It makes me wonder if the prices in the US are artificially low, and the iTunes in the rest of the world are subsidising these cheap American videos... Put them tin-foil hats on.

Technorati tags: iTunes, rip-off.