A number of BBC shows were made available on the iTunes Store earlier this week so it's already begun, at least on a trial basis.

This was on Tuesday:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7252582.stm

I currently see 9 shows available in the store.

How much is it to download an episode?

Should be free if you pay for tv licence- if not your paying for programs that have been already payed for - use dvd recorder then you can watch over and over.

I thought I heard on the radio that they were going to charge £1.99 per episode?

Hi Scott.   More rip off from BBC - and i tunes -- another money spinner  and yet next year the BBC will still increase the licence fee for people that are paying too much as it is !!!!

An episode is £1.89 but you may see some freebies from time to time such as the first episode of Damages. The idea that they should all be free is simply ridiculous because these are episodes to keep and are not rendered unplayable after 30 days. Programmes will be available on BBC iPlayer Streaming for free for 7 days and free downloads will last for 30 days and are not playable on portable devices. iTunes downloads will play on Mac, PC, iPods Apple TV and iPhones and these downloads will be available after they've been available on iPlayer's free streaming.

The licence fee does not cover free shows for keeps which is why you have to pay for BBC DVDs. You also have to take into account the fact that the BBC has deals with providers of shows so they are not able to simply give content away but of course you are able to record broadcasted shows. The iTunes option just provides another way to conveniently and legally obtain content and should be considered as an alternative to DVD. It's not for everyone but some will find it convenient. I just wish the price was about £1 per episode.

Another factor to consider is that these downloads are big files and the bandwidth has to be paid for somehow. Apple certainly shouldn't have to pay for it so it would have to be the BBC which would mean the licence fee would be funding free unlimited downloads and that just isn't going to happen for reasons previously mentioned. If we want the licence fee to come down and not go up then various revenue streams will be required and iTunes is just one of them. The iPlayer service is going to eat up a lot of money and I can see the BBC wanting more funding just to support that instead of supporting quality programming. I'd rather they move towards free limited streaming but paid for iTunes-style downloads for keeps as a way of generating funding for more programming.

Thanks Scott,

Just to clarify for others who may read this - the BBC does not own most of the shows it broadcasts but instead they have broadcast rights and have negotiated deals with content providers for the free catch-up service called iPlayer. The content providers require Digital Rights Management protection on the downloads which is why shows are streamed for free for 7 days after broadcast and downloads expire after 30 days. Some shows may not appear on iPlayer if the BBC can't obtain the rights and some shows may be limited to streaming only. The iTunes Store downloads are for keeps and maybe higher quality than iPlayer offer so a fee is charged. There is still DRM for these downloads but obviously it's less restrictive than iPlayer's.

Just to illustrate the point about rights, the series Damages (broadcast on BBC 1) is not in the BBC section of iTunes but is in the Sony section because download rights were negotiated between Sony and Apple.

I don't think it will do huge business but it should do enough to keep it going and of course the service may well evolve.

Once people stop confusing the free iPlayer catch-up service with a pay-to-keep service I think more people will realise that there is a place for BBC TV shows on iTunes and alternative download stores. As the catalogue of tv shows grows then the value and potential of the iTunes Store will be realised in the months and years ahead.

The first episode of Damages is no longer free on iTunes but I had downloaded it to see how the service works and what the quality was like. It was very good but I think I will only buy something if I really want to own an old gem or maybe if I get into a series and miss an episode on tv and iPlayer. Even at £1.89 it's still less than we might spend on a cup of coffee.

Here are the details of that download:
Duration: 55:40
File size: 593.7MB
Video codec: H.264
Audio: AAC stereo
Dimensions: 640X360