Monday, February 06, 2006

iTunes + TV = Sucess

Reuters is reporting on the status of iTunes television show downloads, which have become a large sucess for the shows through a pay per download viewing.

Networks' iTunes gamble paying off
Mon Feb 6, 2006 3:56 AM ET

By Chris Marlowe
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Television networks took a leap into the unknown when they started selling their shows on Apple's iTunes online store, but even in these early days, it's starting to look as if that faith in digital downloads was well placed.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs welcomed Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios content to the service in October. Now there are 40 different series, each episode of which costs a standardized $1.99 to purchase, and more are on the way.

Nobody will disclose numbers for these television downloads. It's easy, however, to keep an eye on the iTunes download chart, which usually shows NBC's "The Office" as the top full-length program, followed by ABC's "Lost" and Comedy Central's "South Park."
He was confident that the downloads were not eroding audience or invading any of the existing windows, due primarily to their portable and on-demand nature.
"The DVD potentially will get affected, but the revenue as it relates to the studio is higher because of the cost being so much lower and the price points being the same while you're getting a larger percentage of the revenue," Silverman said.
NBC on January 10 added more programs to iTunes, making a total of 13 NBC Universal-produced shows available, including NBC's "Law & Order," USA Network's "Monk" and Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica."

Read the full article here: Networks' iTunes gamble paying off

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