Apple’s UK iTunes Store debuts TV shows for sale

MacDailyNews reader “James P.” has informed us that Apple’s UK iTunes Store has just added “TV Programmes.” We flipped our iTunes Store to “United Kingdom” and, yes, TV shows are now there. While there’s currently no press release available, the news is also plastered all over the front page of Apple’s UK website.

The Top TV Episodes on Apple’s UK iTunes Store are currently:
1. Ugly Betty – Pilot
2. South Park – Make Love, Not Warcraft
3. LOST – A Tale of Two Cities
4. Night Stalker – Pilot (Premiere)
5. South Park – The Return of Chef
6. South Park – Cartoon Wars, Pt. 2
7. South Park – Cartoon Wars, Pt. 1
8. South Park – Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy
9 Commander in Chief – Pilot
10. LOST – Lost (Pilot, Part 1) (Premiere)

Studios/Channels available:
• ABC
• Disney
• Nickelodeon
• MTV
• Paramount Comedy
• Playhouse Disney

Episodes cost £1.89 each with discounted prices for entire seasons.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “James P.” for the heads up.]

22 Comments

  1. This is a good start, I just went the UK to iTunes store and purchased an episode of South Park. pretty cool, but ever since getting an Apple TV – I have been waiting for HD downloads – also @ GBP 1.89, it works out an around twice the price paid in the US.

    Anyway, at least it’s a start, but I’m looking forward to HD and rentals.

  2. It’s a shame that there’s not any UK television programmes available yet, and a shame that the BBC (and others, possibly including Apple) can’t get their act together to make their programmes available for Mac users. I can’t say I’m that impressed by the range available at launch, but it reminds me of the early days of the iTMS – it took a few months for the non-mainstream or country-specific content to be made available. I suspect the US version of the office will be available before the UK original.

  3. As said, it’s a start – but what a terrible selection. All US kids shows, b-list drama or stuff from MTV for a price that’s just too high for what it is. Think I’ll be sticking to bittorent for now…

  4. I’m sorry, what does this mean:

    “If we in the UK were paid in USD, then you would be correct about the pricing being twice the cost. Thankfully, however, we are not”

    At the current exchange rate
    GBP 1.89 = USD 3.80

    Ok, not exactly 100 % mark up, but pretty close. Look, I realise that Apple aren’t the only company gouging uk consumers (wasn’t there some sort of official protest at the differential pricing of UK iTMS music tracks compared to elsewhere). However, just because this has been common practice, does doesn’t make it right or that we should just continue to accept accept this unfair pricing.

  5. HotInPlaya I’m with you, iWork and iLife 08 are still not available in Mexico either. This is simply ridiculous for a global company. I had to buy both products in the US and forward them, which obviously adds to the cost. Still, that is much cheaper than buy them locally and it allows me to skip the wait. Of course, that distorts the numbers. Most people here buy their Apple products in the US which causes the US market to look marginally larger and the Mexican market to seem insignificant.

  6. For those who can’t get iTunes UK, you might want to install the Divx plug-in and Google for TV-Links. Plenty of free streaming TV and movies there.

    Also there is plenty of free streaming music over at Deezer, but hurry at it’s invoked the rage of Universal. Grap your favorite stream ripping software and get busy. (make sure you send the artists some big bucks if you like the music)

    In somewhat better news for those who hate the glossy screen iMac’s, the glass is held on by magnets in front of the LCD panel, so it’s possible it could be removed. At the cost of ascetics, dirt accumulation and violating the warranty of course.

    Perhaps Apple will offer a Matte glass replacement?

  7. Hey Dutch, where are you?? we are in Playa Del Carmen.

    One bright note! have you been to an Office Max lately?

    They are putting in mini ‘Apple Stores” very nice lay out and all the products, I switched a friend last week, she purchased a MacBook, it was 15,500mn, less 10% for cash, take away the IVA, almost on par with USA prices!!

  8. …proxy server beeyatch!

    Oh yea, so you beat MDN. So have I, many many times over the years.

    But MDN surrvies on hit traffic and hardly anyone reads these posts anyway, certainly not to make a computer buying decision.

    So they got you addicted to coming back, just like they got me.

    So who really is getting the last laugh?

  9. £1.89? Jings crivvens! Aw, come on Stevie! The canny Scots’ll no pit up wi’ that! A nice wee Scottish Pound note for a TV show would be a fair shout, and it wid work fine for thon iTunes gift what-ma-jingies that they flog at that Glesga’ Apple Shop place.

  10. As a UK Mac user, I’m very happy that at last Apple has managed to get TV shows onto iTunes UK.

    True, for adults the choice is very limited so far (more like “proof of concept”), but I’m happy to see a couple of standup comedy series, also “Desperate Housewives”, and best of all “Lost” season 3, which won’t make it to DVD retailers for almost another 2 months.

    The price of individual shows is high (almost double the US price, as another poster pointed out). However, if anyone wanted to buy Lost, it’s a lot cheaper on iTunes (£32.99 for all 23 episodes) than on Amazon.co.uk, where currently it’s discounted from £59.99 to £44.98, and not available till 22 October.

    I just bought and downloaded a stand-up comedy show: 23 minutes long, 260MB, took only 8 minutes to download on standard ADSL broadband! And there it is in my TV Shows folder. Wish I had a video iPod!

  11. Jonathan Sizz – “It’s a shame that there’s not any UK television programmes available yet …”

    The Jongleurs Comedy shows were all recorded in London and made by a British production company. Paramount may be distributing them, but they’re still UK shows.

    Let’s hope that many more follow.

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