TV downloads break new barrier with 'Scrubs' deal
The NBC hospital comedy, produced by Disney-ABC Television Group's Touchstone Television, has been added to the catalog of shows that can be purchased as a download from Apple Computer's iTunes music store for $1.99 per episode.
While TV series for network broadcast are routinely produced by and licensed from studios of competing media companies, the "Scrubs" deal marks the first such partnership for a prime-time program offered via the Internet for commercial download, NBC and ABC said Wednesday.
Until now, programs made available for online purchase, like ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and NBC's "The Office," have all been productions of their respective "in-house" television studios.
The iTunes inventory of network shows has grown to more than 60 programs since Apple struck a first landmark deal with ABC in October 2005 to provide commercial-free downloads of some of the Disney-owned network's biggest hits for $1.99.
The advent of downloadable TV launched a new revenue stream for broadcasters and a new era of digital portability for consumers, enabling them to play some of their favorite shows anywhere, any time, on video-equipped models of Apple's wildly popular iPod device.
However, the selection of shows that networks were ready to offer for downloads was limited by questions over how they would share revenues on programs produced by third-party TV studios--a quandary resolved by the "Scrubs" deal.
While TV series for network broadcast are routinely produced by and licensed from studios of competing media companies, the "Scrubs" deal marks the first such partnership for a prime-time program offered via the Internet for commercial download, NBC and ABC said Wednesday.
Until now, programs made available for online purchase, like ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and NBC's "The Office," have all been productions of their respective "in-house" television studios.
The iTunes inventory of network shows has grown to more than 60 programs since Apple struck a first landmark deal with ABC in October 2005 to provide commercial-free downloads of some of the Disney-owned network's biggest hits for $1.99.
The advent of downloadable TV launched a new revenue stream for broadcasters and a new era of digital portability for consumers, enabling them to play some of their favorite shows anywhere, any time, on video-equipped models of Apple's wildly popular iPod device.
However, the selection of shows that networks were ready to offer for downloads was limited by questions over how they would share revenues on programs produced by third-party TV studios--a quandary resolved by the "Scrubs" deal.
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