iTunes episodes subscription delay

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Level 1

26 points

iTunes episodes subscription delay

I subscribed to The Americans season 4. Episode 7 shows as available for purchase in iTunes for $2.99 (at 12:10 AM), but when I try and download I obtain a pop-up message that the episode was unavailable.

Before purchasing my season pass, I could always download the episodes individually by about 12:05 AM. I am pretty sure that purchasing the season pass has delayed my ability to get the episodes.

Is there any way to fix this? Can I cancel the season pass.

On another note, I have seen a number of older threads ( Re: Episodes showing available in store not dowloading with my season pass. ,Delayed iTunes downloads for TV season pass? ) here about this exact problem, one from 2007! It is difficult to believe that a serious company cannot fix a simple software update issue IN 9 YEARS! I am reposting this because I did not see any posts within the last few years.

Anyway, is there a fix available somehow?

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Apr 28, 2016 12:17 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Mthexuma

Level 1

4 points

Aug 3, 2017 4:10 AM in response to kendradog

This is still an issue and has not been fixed. Season pass holders are being delayed from downloading episodes that are available in the itunes store for purchase. If anything the season pass holders shpuld be allowed to download the epispdes before they are available in itunes for single purchase. Right now there is an episode available for purchase in itunes that is included in my season pass that I can not download. If I purchase it in itunes will I be reimbursed? I will start purchasing episodes again so I can watch them immediately and when it is available for the season pass apple will have to reimburse me. At least until you fix this server glitch.

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Answer 2

Rysz

Level 8

44,391 points

Apr 28, 2016 12:45 PM in response to kendradog

Normally, show availability is dependent on when the distributor makes it available thru iTunes, rather than anything that Apple does. There is no exact-to-the-minute obligation that distributors are committed to - it's just the date that counts (i.e., same day, next day after broadcast, etc).

If you want to let Apple know you consider this an issue, file a report here: http://www.apple.com/feedback/

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Answer 3

kendradog Author

Level 1

26 points

Apr 28, 2016 1:33 PM in response to Rysz

As I said in my question, the problem is not the availability time of episodes. The issue is that episodes take longer to be made available when the user has a season pass (subscription) than when the episodes are purchased individually.

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Answer 4

Rysz

Level 8

44,391 points

Apr 28, 2016 2:28 PM in response to kendradog

As I said in my replay, the problem is likely created by the distributor, not Apple, but you can leave feedback, if you wish.

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Answer 5

kendradog Author

Level 1

26 points

Apr 30, 2016 11:51 PM in response to Rysz

It is unlikely that a distributor would choose to delay episodes more for season pass holders than for purchasers of individual episodes. What benefit do you believe a distributor would gain by such a policy?

Likewise, it is unlikely that a distributor would choose to make episodes available at odd times like "12:17 AM" rather than on the hour. More plausibly, the distributor makes the episode available at midnight, and Apple's buggy and slow server software takes 17 minutes to make the episode available to users.

Thus, a more plausible explanation than distributor policy for the delay differential between subscription holders and individual episode purchasers is that Apple is not updating its database promptly. Since the issue has been known for 9 years, I see no point in sending a bug report to Apple: if it cared, it would have fixed the issue some time in the last 9 years.

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Answer 6

Nov 1, 2016 9:24 AM in response to kendradog

I am having this issue as well. I purchased a Season Pass, and the iTunes Store has last night’s episode available for purchase, but I have not received the e-mail notification to download it as part of my Season Pass. If I try to download the newest episode, according to Apple’s support pages, it will charge me.

New episodes in a Season Pass should download automatically, or we should at least be given that option.
If a new episode is available in the iTunes Store but an e-mail notification has not yet been sent, the user should be able to download it without being charged. iTunes should be able to determine that a pass was purchased.

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