Apple, which has resisted flexible pricing with its content partners, appears to be ready to make acceptions. The company is nearing a deal to sell HBO shows on its iTunes Web site, according to Josh Saul at Portfoliocom. HBO is behind such mega-hit shows, such as "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos." If a deal is struck between Apple and Time Warner, the parent company of HBO, it will be the first time that Apple agrees to a different pricing structure than it's had for some time. "One possibility is that HBO programming wil have a higher retail price than the flat $1.99 fee Apple currently charges for video content; another is that HBO will receive a larger cut of the same flat rate than other iTunes content providers receive," according to the report.