ITunes starts selling Fox TV shows

New York: Apple Computer Inc said on Tuesday that its iTunes online music and video store has started selling 24 and other television shows from News Corp's Fox network, joining three other major US TV networks on iTunes in a bid to reach Web audiences.

The additional content helps Apple to round out its iTunes offerings, but it is not a significant source of revenue.

Apple makes most of its profits on the sale of its hardware.

"From a pure revenue standpoint, it's not that big a deal, given the size of Apple and the profitability in the iTunes business," said American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu.

"As Apple has said, iTunes is slightly above break-even."

Sales of music, videos, iPod service and third-party iPod accessories accounted for 11 percent of Apple's total revenue of $4.36 billion in its most recent quarter.

Broadcasters are pursuing younger audiences who often get entertainment on the go with devices such as Apple's iPod, using digital download or video-on-demand services. ITunes allows downloads for computers or iPods.

Apple has sold more than 25 million video downloads at $1.99 each, including TV shows and music videos, since it began the service last October.

Apple and Fox said 16 series including espionage thriller 24 and Prison Break, and FX Network shows such as police drama The Shield are accessible on the download service at $1.99 per episode, but Fox's top-rated "American Idol" is not.

Fox had said in January it would be cautious about making its most popular TV shows available for new distribution outlets.

Walt Disney's ABC, General Electric's NBC, and CBS Corp sell shows on iTunes, and redistribute some programming by other means over the Internet.

CBS's most popular shows, such as CSI, are unavailable on iTunes, but ABC's top shows, Desperate Housewives and Lost, can be downloaded.

So far, CBS has only offered some sports content on iTunes.

ABC is experimenting with free online hit shows like Desperate Housewives and Lost that require viewers to click through advertisements.

But often, online shows offer the option of watching without commercials.

Co-chairman of News Corp's Fox Filmed Entertainment, James Gianopulos, had said Fox would be open to a deal with iTunes during the Reuters Media and Advertising Summit last December.