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Apple adds to HD line-up - October 16, 2008

After Phil Schiller telegraphed the move in his comments at the MacBook event Tuesday, Apple today announced that all four major broadcast networks are now offering primetime series in HD through iTunes. "We've got an incredible Fall 2008 TV lineup with over 70 primetime comedies and dramas, including many of the most popular shows on TV in stunning HD," Apple VP of Internet Services Eddy Cue said in a statement. "With over 200 million episodes sold, iTunes customers have proven they love watching television on their computer, iPod, iPhone and TV with Apple TV."

Among the series now available in HD from iTunes are, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters," "Desperate Housewives," "Dirty Sexy Money," "Eli Stone," "Grey's Anatomy," "Life on Mars," "Lost," "Private Practice," "Samantha Who?" and "Ugly Betty." CBS programming includes "CSI," "CSI: Miami," "CSI: New York," "NCIS" and "Numb3rs." FOX shows include "Bones," "House," "Prison Break" and "Sons of Anarchy," which airs on FX. NBC shows include "30 Rock," "Heroes," "Kath & Kim," "Knight Rider," "Law & Order: SVU," "Life," "Lipstick Jungle," "My Own Worst Enemy" and "The Office," and SCI FI Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" and "Eureka," and USA Network's "In Plain Sight," "Monk," "Psych" and "The Starter Wife."

I don't think we'll ever see a Blu-ray Disc drive on an Apple product, even after the licensing issues "settle down," as Steve Jobs put it Tuesday. Apple is clearly focused on digital delivery for HD content and, as its wariness toward Blu-ray and its preference for the royalty-free DisplayPort over HDMI suggest, it isn't interested in licensing a lot of third-party technology, either.
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