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Apple to Introduce 99-cent TV Show Rentals and iPod Touch: Rumor

At a September 7 press event Apple will introduce a 99-cent TV show rental offering, a new version of the iPod Touch with a higher-resolution screen, and a $99 version of the Apple TV set-top box, according to Bloomberg news.

Bloomberg reports the Apple announcment's big news will be the introduction of 99-cent television show rentals that will feature the content partners News Corp. along with CBS, NBC Universal, and Walt Disney. Bloomberg says these partners are in "advanced talks" to introduce a rental service over iTunes. According to the report, TV shows will be available to iTunes users for 99 cents for 48 hours.

The episodes will reportedly be available within 24 hours of the time they are aired, and will be commercial-free.

The more important news here is, of course, that Bloomberg's unnamed sources say that Apple plans to hold a San Francisco event on September 7, just a couple of weeks before the fall TV season gets underway.

At this event Apple will introduce not only the 99-cent TV rentals, but also a new iPod Touch (with a retina display and perhaps a camera or two), as well as updated Apple TV hardware.

This is in line with Apple's "back to school" event schedule. Apple's last two iPod events were on September 9 of 2008 and 2009.