Starz, IFC, Manga Entertainment content arriving on iTunes

[AppleInsider]

Television content from US premium network Starz, its Manga Entertainment subsidiary, and the independent Film Channel, began arriving on Apple Inc.'s iTunes digital download service on Tuesday.

The first offerings from Starz include two half-hour sitcoms, Hollywood Residential and Head Case, as well as four Anime favorites from Manga Entertainment : Tokko, Noein, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Tactics.

“I think they’re probably the best in episodic television,” Starz vice president Marc DeBevoise said of Apple during a panel on Monday. “Netflix is big in subscription, other people VOD.”

DeBevoise also hinted that his firm's vast catalog of fitness content, for which it is the largest seller, could be next to turn up on iTunes. “We have not even explored what to do with that digitally, to make as much money as we make on DVD and selling in the supermarket," he said.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Media-owned IFC on Tuesday also launched its first television content on the Apple download service. Initially, three series will be available, including The Whitest Kids U'Know, The Henry Rollins Show, and The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman.

The US version of the iTunes store now features over 600 television shows from 64 different television networks.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[edunaway]

IFC content has been on iTunes for over a month. I downloaded Whitest Kids U'Know weeks ago.

[Wiggin]

They need to start offering TV shows in HD, at least 720p. I know this would make it incompatible with iPods; but I don't want to watch standard definition, 4:3 TV on my 16:9 screen. I would love to dump Comcast. And the selection of shows iTunes offers, combined with over-the-air broadcasts, would pretty much allow me to do that, if only the quality was available.

And as long as I'm wishing on a star, make it a rental/subscription basis. 95% of what I watch on TV I don't need to watch more than once. So no need to fill up my hard drive with it.

Or a suggestion to the studios...start offering your shows in podcast format (HD please!). You can even leave the commercials in if you want (I actually sometime like the promos for other shows during the commercial breaks, it's how you find new stuff to watch). Then I can subscribe to your show and not worry about all the outages, poor signals, and horrible DVR from Comcast!

[Guymaioh]

happy that mangas are coming on itunes! Although i would luuuuurve more choice.

[slapppy]

As others have mentioned. 720P at least and widescreen. Maybe a little 5.1 in there while their at it. Give me that and I'll be buying a ton of content.

[BruceLee5000]

"the Interdependent Film Channel"

Is that some new eco-vision station?

[Baoh]

I'd really like to see Anime with at least English subtitles and both English and Japanese soundtracks. Between the DRM and lack of features, I still can't justify purchasing videos from the iTMS. One thing they did to right on Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex (Season 1) is the price. It's only a little over half the cost of what Amazon.com wants for the DVDs for that season. For those who don't mind only having English dialogue and DRM, it's a pretty good value.

[Porchland]

Originally Posted by Wiggin

They need to start offering TV shows in HD, at least 720p. I know this would make it incompatible with iPods; but I don't want to watch standard definition, 4:3 TV on my 16:9 screen. I would love to dump Comcast. And the selection of shows iTunes offers, combined with over-the-air broadcasts, would pretty much allow me to do that, if only the quality was available.

And as long as I'm wishing on a star, make it a rental/subscription basis. 95% of what I watch on TV I don't need to watch more than once. So no need to fill up my hard drive with it.

Or a suggestion to the studios...start offering your shows in podcast format (HD please!). You can even leave the commercials in if you want (I actually sometime like the promos for other shows during the commercial breaks, it's how you find new stuff to watch). Then I can subscribe to your show and not worry about all the outages, poor signals, and horrible DVR from Comcast!

Apple TV is a Comcast killer waiting to happen.

If Apple (1) made TV content available by subscription, (2) the subscription price was comparable to Comcast, (3) had support from the four major networks and a critical mass of the cable networks, (4) worked out live content deals for news, sports and live events, and (5) a critical mass of the content was available in HD, I would dump Comcast so fast its head would spin.

[freakboy]

give me the hardware, a decent selection and hi-def for 60$/month and I ditch cable in a heartbeat. Cable blows. The stupid GUI on the thing is so slow it's infuriating to use. The On-demand stuff from Time warner is so cumbersome, I used it once and then gave up.

Cable stinks. It's overpriced and has a terrible user experience. I can't even easily turn off channels i hate. Why would I want to watch the home shopping network?

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by BruceLee5000

"the Interdependent Film Channel"

Is that some new eco-vision station?

No, it's the touchy-feely network!

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Porchland

Apple TV is a Comcast killer waiting to happen.

If Apple (1) made TV content available by subscription, (2) the subscription price was comparable to Comcast, (3) had support from the four major networks and a critical mass of the cable networks, (4) worked out live content deals for news, sports and live events, and (5) a critical mass of the content was available in HD, I would dump Comcast so fast its head would spin.

That's a lot of ifs. I personally wouldn't expect all that for five years. Apple seems to go one step at a time, one major update in their media store each year, so that gives you one year for each bullet point.