According to industry sources, Apple is currently working on agreements with major Television Studios to allow it to rent TV shows to consumers for 99 cents a piece:

According to sources, Apple is trying to get TV programmers to let it rent individual TV shows for 99 cents each, as opposed to the $1.99 it receives for sales of standard-definition episodes and the $2.99 it gets for selling HD episodes. The TV rental program would work in much the same way that movie rentals now work through iTunes; once an episode is purchased, the consumer will have 30 days to start watching the video. And once started, the TV rental will be available for 24 hours before it expires.

Unlike its current TV and movie sales through iTunes, the new service will move content into the cloud and stream it to users, rather than having them download videos. By doing so, Apple will merely be following a broader industry trend. After all, almost all web video providers today — including industry heavyweights like YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu — use streaming technologies rather than downloads for video delivery.

This move will be Apple's first step towards joining the industry's current trend. Currently, many other providers including YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and even Microsoft's Zune Service have made use of streaming technology to deliver content to consumers. Apple is hoping that this move will increase the amount of TV Shows that are consumed through their iTunes service. I wonder how many people will rent it cause they can aldready get it for free...