Ars Technia is reporting that Apple is about to add television and movie downloads to the UK iTunes Store, possibly within the next two weeks. Customers in the US have enjoyed this service for a couple of years now, while our friends overseas have heard this promise several times. If Ars' source is to be believed, the licensing issues have been worked out and the system is in place. All that's left to do is "...flip the switch."
Keep your eyes peeled.
[Via AppleInsider]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-09-2007 @ 11:09AM
Fraser Drew said...
At long last.... however i doubt we'll see any BBC or C4 content any time soon :(. O well, it's a start!!
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:15AM
Chris said...
Apple needs to stop ignoring us up in Canada. No iPhone in Canada. No TV Shows in Canada. No Movies in Canada. Come on Steve, you can do it....
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:19AM
Wil Stobbart said...
At last, a reason to AppDelete Transmission... Goodbye old friend, you will be missed...
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:20AM
Mo said...
I'll be very interested to see what the TV content is. Maybe the BBC will supply some to stop (some) people complaining about the utter lack of anything-but-Windows support for the iPlayer [even though that misses the point, it would be a good thing for Mac users].
Channel 4's where the real money's at, though 4od and FairUse4WM is serving me well just now. It'd have to be damned good content for me to start paying.
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:24AM
Joe said...
I hope that the iTS expands its video library to all customers, so that US users can download shows from BBC and Channel 4. I don't know what sort of licensing would be necessary since the UK has some sort of TV tax, but I can hope.
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:30AM
Matteo said...
Ah... Switzerland... I guess I'll wait (what other options do I have? :-) ). Seriously, I hope it gets released Europe-wide before the end of the year. At least I'll be able to start complanining about the poor video quality.
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:45AM
Mo said...
I'll be very interested to see what the TV content is. Maybe the BBC will supply some to stop (some) people complaining about the utter lack of anything-but-Windows support for the iPlayer [even though that misses the point, it would be a good thing for Mac users].
Channel 4's where the real money's at, though 4od and FairUse4WM is serving me well just now. It'd have to be damned good content for me to start paying.
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:56AM
Martyn said...
It's too late Apple, just too late. I've waited long enough and I don't want your stupid videos now. You can shove them. That'll show you for making British people wait two years! Heh!!
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 11:59AM
Aegelward said...
maybe they plan to tie it into an event to launch the next gen ipod, or the iphone in the UK
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 12:15PM
Sam said...
I hope this is true because it's long overdue. However, I can see why it's taken a long time - the unions and guilds over here are very picky on stuff like repeat royalties, and DVD royalties, they all want a share and it's been difficult even for the broadcasters themselves to launch download services in the UK.
I do wonder, since US Sci-Fi is quite popular over here, whether we'll see things like Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis on a UK TV iTS, or whether it'll be limited to UK shows only.
Sam
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 12:26PM
Jon said...
There would definitely be some kind of event to announce this. They wouldn't just implement it quietly.
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 2:25PM
Mo said...
@Joe: TV licensing isn't affected by Internet delivery. The only snag in opening up the content from the different iTunes stores is distribution rights. For some reason, content producers like to actively prevent people from buying their work.
(I've yet to figure out precisely why, because as a result people just download it through less legal means intead).
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 2:36PM
Jake Coventry said...
@Joe and Mo
In the UK we pay a TV License to the BBC of about £115 a year. That basically means that it cannot be watched by anyone who doesnt pay it. If you have a TV in the UK then you have to by law pay the License fee.. :-( The best bit is that there are NO adverts on the BBC.. cos us poor buggers are paying for it ...
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 3:04PM
Ari B. said...
@Jake Coventry
No adverts? When do you go to the bathroom?
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 3:38PM
niclet said...
@ Chris
Moreover, there's no french Audio Books in the Apple Store Canada. It been almost 3 years that I write Apple for this in vain. In France they got some f**ken french Audio Book literature. Hey Steve, what's going on? So, when comes the time that we'll able to download films at the iTS Canada, I'm sure that there will be no french version at all.
Reply
8-09-2007 @ 6:24PM
Sam said...
The relationship between the License Fee, the BBC proper and BBC Worldwide is a complex one. Basically, the BBC isn't allowed to charge for any of its services, the only money the BBC proper is allowed to get from consumers is the License Fee - which is set by the government.
BBC Worldwide is a wholly owned subsidiary of the BBC, and is the arm of the BBC that handles selling BBC content to other channels, both domestic and worldwide. It also sells things like DVDs, and the Radio Times which is a TV listings magazine. Profits from BBC Worldwide go back into the BBC proper, and they are also the only company allowed to advertise its products on the BBC. Various BBC-branded ad and subscription channels worldwide are either wholly or partly owned by BBC Worldwide.
The issue of how, if BBC content were to come onto iTunes in the UK, it would be allowed to be charged for, is a confusing one. On the one hand, BBC Worldwide already sell DVDs of TV shows in the UK - and on the other, the BBC proper is already offering free downloads through the Windows-only iPlayer. Forcing Mac-using license payers to, in essence, pay again for content they *could* get on a Windows PC for free, albeit with some heavy restrictions, will not go down well with the British public.
Sam
Reply