iTunes to adopt virtual punchcard for viewing

You can now sign up for a season’s worth of TV shows on iTunes.

Apple Computer began its aggressive marketing campaign by changing the a la carte menu to a pay up-front model. The current pay scheme has you the user paying US$1.99 for each episode of a television show that you purchase and then download. The Multi-Pass will be available for US$9.99 and will cover a month’s worth of episodes of one particular show.

The iTunes video experiment has sold more than 8 million copies of video entertainment since debuting late last year. Some highlights of the current offerings are ABC’s Lost and Desperate Housewives, and shows made by NBC.

You won’t be able to view an episode before it airs on TV, though.