ABC to offer more TV content for iTunes

ABC early next year is planning to increase the number of television shows for iTunes, which are available for viewing on wireless and mobile devices -- such as Apple's fifth-generation iPod. Albert Chang, executive vice president of digital media for the Disney ABC Television Group indicated that efforts are underway to negotiate rights clearances from musicians, actors, writers, and others for shows that Disney does not produce itself, according to a report from imdb.com. "Now when we know a show will be good, we negotiate ahead of time to clear distribution on all platforms. We expect our mobile video subscriber business to reach 14 million in 2009, up from about 200,000 today," Chang said. Disney said it plans to re-launch its Movies.com site with additional editorial content, but without the feature films it originally planned to deliver online, according to the report.

Filed under: iPod, industry