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Warner Bros. execs find Apple's 99 cent TV show rentals too cheap

Executives with Warner Bros., producer of numerous primetime network TV shows, believe that Apple's 99 cent prices TV show rentals need to be more expensive.

According to The Associated Press, Barry Meyer, chief executive of Warner Bros., said his company decided to not participate in Apple's proposal for 99 cent TV episode rentals, because they feel the price is too low. Meyer revealed his company's stance this week at an investor conference hosted by Merrill Lynch in California.

"Meyer said the deal was not a good value for the studio subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., which sells permanent downloads shows such as 'Gossip Girl' on iTunes for $2.99 each," the report said.

While Warner Bros. didn't agree to Apple's deal, other networks did join on for the rental service, upon which Apple's new cloud-centric Apple TV will rely. That device, which will sell for $99, will have limited internal storage and will focus on rentals of HD movies for $4.99 and TV shows for 99 cents.

Announced earlier this month, the new rental service has been agreed to by major U.S. networks Fox and ABC.

"We think the rest of the studios will see the light and get on board pretty fast," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said during his keynote address earlier this month.

Before the rentals were announced, reports indicated that major content providers including NBC Universal, CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. have all "dug in their heels in opposition" to Apple's plans. TV executives are said to believe that inexpensive episode downloads would break their current economic model.