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Following criticism & lawsuit, Apple refunding Breaking Bad iTunes Season Passes

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In August, we noted that iTunes was offering Season Passes of the popular show Breaking Bad in a split-up format. For Season 5 of the show, the first eight episodes was under one iTunes purchase, while the second half (which was known as “The Final Season”) was an additional download.

This split did not go over well with Breaking Bad fans, and one iTunes customer even filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, even though the matter was due to a decision by AMC, not iTunes.

Dear Customer, We apologize for any confusion the naming of “Season 5” and “The Final Season” of Breaking Bad might have caused you. While the names of the seasons and episodes associated with them were not chosen by iTunes, we’d like to offer you “The Final Season” on us by providing you with the iTunes code below in the amount of $22.99.  This credit can also be used for any other content on the iTunes Store. Thank you for your purchase.

Now, Apple is making up for AMC’s decision by offering a full refund via a $22.99 iTunes credit to customers that purchased the second-half of the Breaking Bad season via iTunes. The credit is redeemable via a promotional code sent to each customer who made the Season Pass purchase. A copy of the email is pasted above. In the email, Apple makes it clear that the decision to split the season up was not in its hands. Thanks, Ryan and Dane!

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Comments

  1. Timothy Barlow - 11 years ago

    Havent received my email yet from Apple?

  2. Tom Na - 11 years ago

    This is all good. I received the email. However, I only purchased the SD version for $14.99 and not the HD version that costs $22.99. I entered the code and received $22.99 in credit. iTunes just paid me $8 for watching the final season of Breaking Bad. Thanks iTunes!
    I wonder who else getting fired from Apple. Whoever you are, I consider you a martyr.

    • Scott Buscemi - 11 years ago

      Nobody. It was AMC that messed with customers, not Apple.

  3. Calvin Chestnut - 11 years ago

    I bought the first half of the season expecting to see this second season. Should I be expecting an email?

    • vtcajones - 11 years ago

      I’m not sure if first-half buyers will automatically get a refund but I tried emailing Apple support and got the run-around for a week. I gave up and went through the support option where you ask an iTunes rep to call you. I just said “I wouldn’t have bought the season if I knew it wasn’t going to be the whole thing”. The rep immediately refunded my money. The call lasted about 15 seconds.

  4. Ryan Hitt - 11 years ago

    Any word on how long it will take for this to roll out to everybody? I purchased both the first and second half, and haven’t seen any such email or credit on my account yet.

  5. My Thoughts (@_8978) - 11 years ago

    Shouldn’t it be a refund for people buying the first half – they thought they were buying the whole season. These are the people who were misled!

    People buying the second half knew what they were getting!

    • Tom Na - 11 years ago

      I think you’re right about this. I think Apples decision to give out these refunds was done in haste and not thought out very clearly. Especially given that they have been refunding $22.99 (the HD price) to the people that bought the $14.99 (the SD price) version. I think they just got scared at the thought of a lawsuit from people like Saul Goodman and freaked out and gave out refunds whether they were correct or not. Things haven’t been going smoothly over at Cupertino in the last few years.

  6. Barbara Tunney Kaytor - 11 years ago

    i think that as a big corporation, working in conjunction with other big corporations, things will go wrong. and due to the fact that the american public is generally a giant whiny cry baby, no one or anything will ever be good enough.

  7. Marty Hillman - 11 years ago

    The $14.99 or $22.99 is less than the cumulative price of episodes. It would have been a steal to sell 16 episodes for $14.99 – more than half off the cumulative price. I understood this to be the episodes running in the given year in which they were purchased.

    However, I am not going to turn down the $22.99 based on the thousands I spend with iTunes annually (yes, thousands). Apple could have refunded the SD price which is what I paid, but they chose to refund the higher price to everyone. That tells me it was more of a gesture than a refund, so I don’t have a problem taking it.

    This was a miscommunication between AMC and iTunes. From pricing, it is apparent that Apple saw this as two separate seasons. Anyone with any history purchasing from iTunes should realize that Apple does not give away episodes of TV programs for under $1 per episode on season passes. The consumer benefits in this case for being obtuse as well as Apple not communicating properly.

  8. fcandi - 11 years ago

    I bought the “Season 5” and got the voucher. In the subject line of the mail it clearly says “Your Season Pass Purchase for Breaking Bad, Season 5”.

  9. Chris O'Hara - 11 years ago

    I only purchased the season pass for 5A and I just received the credit email, so I think they’re refunding as long as you bought at least one half of the season.

  10. Cat Specialist - 11 years ago

    Amazon did the same, but I don’t see them returning any money.

  11. Chris Hidlebaugh - 11 years ago

    I haven’t received my email from Apple yet either…

  12. David Webb - 10 years ago

    After quite a few mails I got my refund…and Breaking Bad disappeared from my apple TV?! Is it a joke? It still appears to be in the cloud, but not to be downloaded and not to be bought. Come on Apple?!