While the Apple iPad won’t be available until sometime in March or April, the much discussed tablet is already shaking things up in the media industry. According to the Financial Times – Apple has been negotiating with the US Networks to get the pricing reduced for US television shows available on the iTunes store from $1.99 per episode to $1 per episode. The strategy is to test whether lower prices will significantly increase the sale of television episodes – by aligning this with the iPad launch, Apple hopes to create additional demand for the device.
On another front, Hulu, the online television site (US based only – sorry fellow Canadians) has, according to TechCrunch, started the development of an HTML5 portal – so Flash will not be required to view. If this is true – the very fact that Hulu will be available to the iPad, will certainly make the device appealing to a wider cross-section of consumers.