Report: Apple floating $30/month iTunes subscription plan to TV networks

So, how does the idea of $30 a month for all-you-can-eat TV episodes from iTunes strike you?

Well, it's sounding pretty good to Apple, apparently, and according to the AllThingsDigital and its "multiple" anonymous sources, Apple execs are actively shopping the idea around to the big broadcast and TV networks, hoping to drum up some interest.

Apple is looking to launch the subscription service—which, I'm assuming, would offer a buffet of TV episodes from participating networks for a flat $30-a-month subscription fee—"early" next year, AllThingsDigital reports. (No comment from Apple, naturally.)

No one's signed on the dotted line yet, writes AllThingsDigital's Peter Kafka, who adds that network bigwigs are "intrigued" but "wary" of the proposal: intrigued because it could mean "new revenue streams" (translation: more money), and wary of antagonizing the powerful cable and satellite operators that an iTunes subscription plan could potentially circumvent.

And of course, there's also the issue of whether couch potatoes like me will take to coughing up $30 for an iTunes TV subscription (which, as the Journal notes, wouldn't necessarily be tied to Apple TV or the iPhone) in the first place.

Paying $30 a month for unlimited TV shows from iTunes might be attractive if it meant ditching a monthly $80 cable bill in the process, but only if all the big broadcast and cable TV networks were on board—and that would be be no small feat, given how hard it was to get all the major networks to sign on for à la carte iTunes downloads. Also: would subscription TV shows be available immediately after broadcast, or would we have to wait until the next day (or later)?

For now, of course, you can get on-demand (and ad-supported) TV shows on the likes of Hulu for the low price of nothing, but from what we've been hearing, that may not last for much longer.

So, what do you think: If Apple were to offer a $30/month subscription plan for TV shows on iTunes, would you bite—and if so, under what conditions?

Related:
Apple’s iTunes Pitch: TV for $30 a Month [AllThingsDigital]