Juan Monroy

Do you remember how everyone who bought Season 5 of Breaking Bad on iTunes in 2012 was angry to learn they also had to buy the second-half of Season 5 in 2013? A litany of complaints and a class-action lawsuit forced Apple and AMC to give away the last eight episodes of the series to those customers. At the time, I had predicted that this might pose a similar issue for the final season of Mad Men, which is also scheduled to air over two years in 2014 and in 2015.

On Monday morning, I bought the season pass for the final season of Mad Men on iTunes, and I noticed the price was $35, based on fourteen episodes, not seven for this year and seven for next. Apple figured it out and even included an explanatory note: “Mad Men, The Final Season is expected to include 14 episodes (actual number of episodes may vary).”

The price is a little steep because of the upfront cost of buying fourteen episodes. It’s not as nice as getting the early adopter credit of buying the first eight episodes and getting the back eight free. However, come next year, I’ll be relieved to find seven episodes appearing each week in my queue, ready to stream.

And streaming at home is still way better than watching it at a bar.