Amazon beats Apple, offers 99-cent TV show purchases for ABC and Fox

The big news Wednesday was that Apple announced a collection of new iPods, a new streaming Apple TV -- and to go along with all of that technology, 99-cent HD TV show rentals from ABC and FOX. While Apple and many other TV networks can't agree on the pricing scheme, namely how much each party gets, Amazon has responded by dropping the price of purchasing HD TV Shows from ABC and Fox to 99 cents.

It's still to early too state whether the industry as a whole will concede to 99-cent HD TV show rentals, or purchases. But it looks as though Apple may once again set the price for an entire type of media; just as it did with MP3 files. The current pricing on Amazon, which allows users to keep and watch the TV shows, instead of renting them, could also increase the pressure to sell TV shows for 99 cents. The Internet superstore is also known for setting the price of eBooks at $9.99, a price many consumers have come to expect, even as publishers try to sell eBooks at higher prices.