Warner Bros. Takes Its TV to iTunes

Warner Home Entertainment has taken the television content it previously released to AOL, BitTorrent, and Guba and released it to iTunes for $1.99 an episode.

Apple Computer and Warner Home Entertainment have announced that programming from Warner’s extensive television library is now available via Apple’s iTunes Music Store for $1.99 per episode, including the never-broadcast pilot of the now-cancelled Aquaman TV series produced by Smallville’s Alfred Gough and MIles Millar. (Um, whoohoo?) Overall, the deal encompasses more than 150 shows, ranging from the sitcom juggernaut Friends to the cult sci-fi epic Babylon 5, animated classics like The Jetsons and The Flintstones, and popular sketches from MADtv.

“Making our television content available to iTunes consumers is animportant step in our digital distribution strategy,” said Simon Kenny,president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “This deal fits perfectlywith our philosophy of providing consumers with access to our world-classentertainment properties across the widest selection of platforms anddevices available.”

Kenny ain’t kidding: with some exceptions, the television content now for sale via iTunes largely overlaps with material Warner Bros. has previously marketed digitally via AOL, BitTorrent, and Guba, although Apple is not (yet) offering feature films for sale via iTunes. But like digital music services, iTunes seems to dominate the digital video marketplace, having sold more than 35 million videos and having inked an ever-growing number of deals with television studios, broadcasters, and production houses.