Just as Hulu has more-or-less reluctantly barred boxee from streaming NBC video content to anything other than a browser, here comes the new TV.com iPhone app. It offers full episodes of such classics as Dream On, Night Gallery and Star Trek, and clips from current shows on multiple networks. Compare and contrast with the original NBC mobile site and you'll see that mobile streaming has come a long way, baby.

Sure, the Slingplayer app for the iPhone may be just around the corner, and rumors of a Hulu app have been floated. Does that give you Kirk and Spock during your morning commute? No, I didn't think so.

CBS Interactive's TV.com app is a free download from the App Store, and works either over WiFi or 3G. I have a hunch it's not going to be available outside of the US store, so if you're able to check that out please let us know. Update: As suggested, I checked myself -- not in the UK store, not in the German store.

[via Techmeme]

So, you're walking down the street and you see a bank robbery in progress, or you're driving your car down a road in rural Illinois and see a biplane crash into a loaded gasoline tanker truck. Now you can be a CBS "eye on the street" roving reporter with EyeMobile for iPhone.

CBS wants you to take photos of events as they're happening, then use EyeMobile to upload your pics and report on what's happening. If the iPhone ever gets video capabilities, you'd most likely be able to use EyeMobile to upload your news videos as well. (Note to Apple: that video capture capability would have been nice in the 2.1 update.) CBS is now accepting video from other sources, like your camcorder or BlackBerry.

EyeMobile also lets you watch what other "citizen journalists" are posting. While the quality of reporting might be somewhat iffy, anything has to be better than the talking heads that the networks hire.

EyeMobile is available for free in the App Store (click opens iTunes). Get it today and start your career as the next Walter Cronkite.

Beverly Hills, 90210 is a show that is near and dear to many people's hearts... at least I assume so, because how else do you explain this Beverly Hills, 90210 limited edition iPod nano? CBS is selling 2000 of these suckers for $269. For your money you get an 8 gig iPod nano engraved with a picture of the 90210 cast and a slogan of your choice (as long as it is 30 characters or less) and all the normal accessories that come with an iPod nano. If a 4 gig iPod nano is more your speed, you're in luck because you can get one of them for $219.

I think I'll be passing on this iPod nano, but CBS has a whole line of iPods branded with various shows. They have everything from CSI iPods to Amazing Race iPods. I will pay good money for a Barney Miller iPod nano (which I have helpfully mocked up to the right. Oh, Wojciehowicz, you card!).

[via Engadget]

NBC has gotten all the press in their big fight with Apple, but a few other companies are currently considering their options about what to do with iTunes pricing.

News Corp is apparently ready to draw a line in the sand. Their COO Peter Chernin says "negotiations will be prickly and dicey and contentious, like all negotiation are and like all negotiations should be." Interesting point of view there. He earlier promised that they wouldn't be pulling content from iTunes like NBC is (or at least says they are-- the content is still there for now, but on the way out soon), but says that they should be the ones determining prices for their products, not Apple. Which is true-- unless Apple believes otherwise. If Apple offers you $1 per song or nothing, Chernin, which one are you going to take?

And CBS, on the other hand, is asking everyone to just chill, OK? CEO Les Moonves is the only one that actually sounds like he knows what's going on at the iTunes store: "We look at iTunes as much as a promotional vehicle for our shows as a financial vehicle." That's exactly how everyone should see it-- we can watch these shows for free (with advertising) on television, or pay a nominal fee to watch them later on iTunes.

This doesn't help with NBC of course-- they're going to do what they want (including go to Amazon) no matter what CBS says. They are competitors, after all, but whether NBC pulls out or not, the Store isn't going anywhere-- there are lots of content providers still interested in it.

[via MacBytes]

Most of the videos I have seen of the iPhone don't show it in action, but this video really gives you an idea of how you interact with this little device. Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, pulls out all the stops for CBS News and runs the iPhone through its paces.

Say what you will about the iPhone, but as I watched Phil navigate through its interface I couldn't help but think it was all special effects. Good special effects at that.

Oh, and you eagle eyed readers out there might recognize a large man wearing a red shirt in the back ground during the opening of this piece (hint, it's me).

[via the Mac DevCenter]

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, CBS has launched, or more correctly relaunched, their long-forgotten CBS Records label. They've signed a deal with Apple Computer to sell music, videos and "other content" at iTunes.

CBS Records, in its first life, was home to a pretty amazing stable of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Bruce Springsteen and Aerosmith. It was sold to Sony for a couple of billion dollars almost twenty years ago. Since then, "CBS Records" essentially ceased to exist.

So why the renewed interest in music? CBS apparently wants to leverage their TV shows as marketing tools for the music industry. Nothing creates buzz quite so quickly or quite so well as a TV show promoting a particular artist or single.

Apple's Genius Bar will soon be able to add 'entertainment' to its list of things it does for people, as CBS has given two thumbs up for a show pilot titled Genius Bar. The show apparently follows the employees of a place similar to Apple's Genius Bar and their adventures with "the cool, hip and beautiful" employees of a nearby Ambercrombie & Fitch-like store.

Excuse me while I gag.

Ok, and.. we're back from the gagging break. What on earth are these people thinking? Granted, Apple is flying high right now, but hold the phone. If Apple wanted a show to pimp themselves and their products, they could have conjured (or had CBS conjure) anything cooler than this: a Matrix rip-off where all the white and candy blue code looks like AppleScript, and the Agent Smiths look more like clones of Bill Gates, or a CSI spin-off where all the lab machines are Xserves and Mac Pros, and all the camera work in the field is done with MacBooks and iSights.

Knowing CBS, the hip but slightly-too-arrogant Johnny from the Kinda-Genius Bar will have to cancel his date with Electra from Kimbercrombie & Fitch because he has to fix Heath Ledger's iPod. Ugh.

But who knows - maybe the saving grace of the show might be that its straight-from-radio pop soundtrack will be available from the iTunes Store.

CBS and Apple have just made added Big Brother All-Stars, the seventh season of the reality show, available in the iTunes Music Store. I must admit that I am a faithful Big Brother watcher, I even watched the first season when the contestants got along and there were no challenges for them to do, they just sat around the house all day.

The per episode price is the standard $1.99 but the season pass price of $29.99 is where things get interesting. CBS airs Big Brother three times a week over the summer which means that if you spring for the season pass you'll get 50 episodes (or so) for 30 bucks. Not too shabby.

I should also point out that CBS is offering these episodes for free on Innertube, their online video service.

[via Variety.com]

As you may remember, CBS's president of digital media Larry Kramer announced back in February his network's intention to sell downloadable episodes of Survivor - without iTunes. For $1.99US, you got a single episode that expired in 24 hours. He stated that CBS would be moving gradually into this new media frontier.

Today, they've taken what I think is a nice step forward. Survivor, Numb3rs and all three CSI's are now in the US iTunes Music Store [iTunes link]. Welcome to the party, CBS!

First ABC launched an online streaming 'channel' which featured reruns of primetime programming, and now CBS has launched innertube. You won't find episodes of CBS's primetime programming on innertube, though. CBS has developed online only content, like Greek to Chic, a makeover show for frat boys, and tie ins to Survivor.

innertube uses RealPlayer to stream the video, so once more Mac users can get into the fun.

[via Ars Technica]

Disney announced today that it will make episodes of both Lost and Desperate Housewives available for free via the web, starting in June. The files will feature "chapters" to let users quickly jump ahead in the episode, though not past the embedded commercials. The article merely says that the shows will be available "...on the internet," which sounds like they mean outside of the iTMS.  Both Lost and Desperate Housewives have been big sellers for Apple, so this seems like an odd move for Disney (they are calling the project a two month experiment). I can't imagine that the shows will be available for free via the web while they're still $1.99US in the iTMS, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

File this under "What are they thinking?" CBS has announced that it will offer downloads of its mega-popular reality show Survivor: Panama* at $1.99 a pop. But here's the catch: The episodes will "expire" 24 hours after purchase, will not be iPod compatible and will not be sold via iTunes (CBS.com will distribute them). CBS's president of digital media Larry Kramer told Ruters, "We want to go gradually. We've never done this before."

I honestly do understand Mr. Kramer's hesitation. It's a new marketing venture and they don't want to get burned. But we know that the networks get the majority of the cut from iTunes sales. Plus, why would I pay for something that's going to "break" in a day? That's like saying, "After you listen to this CD once, I'm coming to your house and taking it away from you."

*Does anyone else think the theme should be changed to Panama by Van Halen for this season?

[Via MacDailyNews]