In July 2008 I got an Apple TV. My house is in a bad location for broadcast TV reception and I only really get one channel. I grew up without cable TV and have an aversion to the contracts and monthly bills associated with cable and satellite TV so I don’t have that either.
The Apple TV is a sleek little box that hooks up to your TV via an HDMI cable and to your computer via a wireless network and allows you to watch any TV shows and movies purchased from the iTunes store on your regular television set. There’s also a Remote application for the iPhone that makes any other remote look shabby.
I don’t really put a limit on myself in terms of how much media I buy from the iTunes store. I strongly believe in supporting copyright laws and acquiring all of my digital media legally and my internet connection at home is always, always busy. I’m pretty sure I’m one of iTunes best customers.
Now that I’m past the one year mark of ownership on my Apple TV and have been through a complete TV season cycle, I feel like I have an accurate representation of my typical iTunes spending over the course of a year.
I download all the TV show season passes I want, rent all the movies I want, and buy all the music and iPhone applications I want and in the past year I spent $1181.95 via iTunes. Mint.com shows it as coming in 4th in terms of where I spend my money (rent, clothes, and groceries are above it).
That averages out to $98 a month. Considering that cable would be a minimum of $44.95 a month for a basic package (and I do buy HBO and Showtime shows on iTunes that wouldn’t be included in a basic package) and Netflix would be a minimum of $8.99 a month and I’m also getting all my music and apps in there, I think that average isn’t too bad. I can rewatch any of those TV shows at any time just like if I owned the DVDs (or got them from Netflix). I can also get all the programming I want in HD without having to buy a new DVD player.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links.
Related posts:
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Fall 2009 TV Lineup
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I have an Apple TV and don’t have cable at home. I purchase some shows, rent & buy movies. But I also have a Netflix account which most recently I have been using to watch shows that I hadn’t seen before. The shows which I like but don’t want to spend the $$ on, I watch on Hulu or on the show’s site (ABC, the CW, etc)
You are brave. I don’t know if I want to find out how much I have spent using my iTunes account