Apple claims to have sold 200 million TV episodes to date, including one million sold in HD format since the option became available in September. And in customary fashion, the company is looking to expand on those figures with three primary pursuits: more selection, more selection, and more selection still.

Following a summer season chock-full of game-show and reality programming, this fall Apple is making an effort to provide as many dramas and comedies and the like from as many networks as possible for iTunes shoppers. The company now names ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC as HD-friendly within the pages of its storefront.

Everything from CBS’s long-time hit show “CSI: Miami” and its New York-based variant to FOX’s “Prison Break” to NBC’s “The Office” to ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and “Dirty Sexy Money” is available either at a per-episode price of $2.99 or a season pass running anywhere between $40 and $70. Of course, all shows are available in standard definition, too, for 1/3 less cost per episode.

Ever since Apple introduced the TV option for iTunes consumers, it has had to service increasing demand for increasing amounts of programming titles and studios. And because it has had to contend with the extended removal of NBC programming for much of the last year, its sales have presumably not been as superb as they might have otherwise been. Thus, now that Apple has officially brought the majors on board as both SD- and HD-level participants, consumers are naturally bound to enjoy the comprehensive supply much more so than the gap-ridden experience that came before. Will this boost sales? Very probably.

While it’s not yet certain that HD programming will induce many sales other than the trickle of free, promotional downloads made available on a weekly, if not daily basis, the choice of HD itself is no doubt important to note. On-demand television is still in a stage of relative infancy, so pricing can only be expected to come down as time progresses.

Competition with iTunes will continue to be strong with players like Netflix, but very few distributors - iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand being the most prominent of all - can offer consumers the option to retain episodes and even full seasons of content ahead of their equivalent DVD or Blu-Ray release. This convenience is certainly advantageous to a good number of entertainment seekers who might ordinarily invest in physical media. (It should be said that Netflix’s streaming option will almost definitely have current programming to choose from in the none-too-distant future.)

All told, the iTunes TV store is still very much at a budding stage, and whether it is on the cusp of a boom, it’s difficult to say. But it is clear that Apple and its visual media partners are wasting little time in capitalizing on fresh programming. So it may not be very long before Apple can tout five to ten million HD shows sold. Or, alternatively, one billion TV episodes altogether. Looking at Apple’s release of June figures listing over 5 billion songs sold since the iTunes Store’s inception, that would be a video statistic none too small.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:1 Million iPhones. 74 Days.800 Apple Employees Lose their iEmploymentApple Tops $200 Per ShareApple Making a Directory for iPhone Apps?More Apple Tablet PC Rumors Hit the SurfaceApple Lands Deal with MGMWoman Sues Apple For $1 Million - Over $200 Price Cut

Alex at NewTeeVee is reporting that ABC will begin to test adding more commercials into their primetime shows which you can watch on ABC.com. It was just a matter of time right? If you can get x for one commercial, why not get 2x for two commercials or push the rubberband as far as it can go and get 3x for three commercials!

Alex notes, "Web video is about speed; each commercial is another bump in the road and another excuse to click off somewhere else." I am not sure that speed, commercials and content have anything to do with each other. And of course more commercials is an excuse to click off - that’s the purpose of the commercial right? P&G doesn’t give a rats ass if you see whether Hurley makes it out of the hospital, they want you to click to learn more about Bounty.

Apparently Disney is just testing the idea of multiple commercials and that user feedback will dictate whether they stay or go. Yea and if you buy that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. In all seriousness, more commercials only means that real video monetization will continue to be pushed back further.

It’s also important to remember that the mainstream audience probably won’t care about another couple of commercials. If they are shifting from watching Lost on TV to watching Lost on their computer monitor, why would they expect anything different? Innovation will come from those who can’t get the high CPMs.

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Source:Valleywag

PodTech, home to videoblogger Robert Scoble, is shutting down, says Fake Steve Jobs blogger and Forbes senior editor Dan Lyons. “Everybody in the Valley is just really bumming out,” reports Fake Steve. “Except that of course everyone is also really heartened by this because it really confirms that the Web 2.0 model is viable and is really going to be huge.” I’m sorry for the PodTech folks, but I have to ask: Does Lyons think the real Steve Jobs cares?

Source:Valleywag

newVideoPlayer(”mark_highlights.flv”, 475, 376);
I can’t conceive of what it’s going to be like next week without the sight of Mark Cuban kicking up his heels on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. I was so disconsolate that Gawker Media videographer Richard Blakeley cooked up this montage to cheer me up. Let me tell you, Microsoft should be investing $240 million in this guy.

Is it any wonder why Yahoo’s image is so unpolished? The ranks of top PR people available to buff it have been rapidly shrinking. And with CEO Jerry Yang all but hiding in a cave, there’s been little for the survivors to do. The latest departure: Joanna Stevens, to parts unknown. That Stevens, an eight-year Yahoo veteran, would leave on such short notice, without another job lined up, is telling. It means, in short, that this ultimate Yahoo loyalist has finally tired of the company’s mismanagement. Before new PR chief Jill Nash came on board, Stevens briefly ran the department, and she was close to former CEO Terry Semel (shown here with Stevens and Tom Cruise). When even the company’s designated cheerleaders are turning in their pom-poms, you know the team is losing. (Photo by Joanna Stevens)

From: Jill Nash
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 11:53 AM
To: pr-all@yahoo-inc.com; execops@yahoo-inc.com; presidentstaff@yahoo-inc.com; Marta Nichols; Samuel J Wolff; Matt Rhodes; Cathy La Rocca; Allen Olivo; Peter Daboll; Nick Chavez
Subject: Team update

All:

After eight years on the Corporate Communications team, Joanna Stevens has decided to open the next chapter of her life. Her last day on the team will be October 30th.

Her contributions to Yahoo! have been immeasurable - from spearheading major announcements to managing countless crises to helping to grow our team. She’s worked closely with three generations of Yahoo! executive teams, providing valuable guidance on corporate communications strategies, messaging, and positioning. She’s helped the company navigate through crises that ranged from unprecedented lawsuits to adult content to market rumors. Jo has also driven financial communications, played a major role in countless earnings announcements, stockholder meetings, annual reports, and Analyst Days. Jo also led the team through pivotal announcements and acquisitions, overseeing the communications strategy and execution for major finanical transactions, including Overture, Flickr, RightMedia, and Alibaba to name just a few.

Jo also helped reinforce the Yahoo! brand externally and internally in her work. She conceived of the Yahoo! Yodel Challenge, leading the tour across the country and turning Wiley Gustafson, our litigious yodeler, into an enthusiastic emcee. She also led the cross-functional team that engineered a memorable 10th Anniversary for Yahoos and users around the world. And, of course, Jo is to be thanked for the countless stories that you’ve never read about Yahoo!.

May Petry, who is also VP of PR for Connected Life, will step in as interim leader until Jo’s replacement is found. I’d like to thank Jo for nearly eight years of dedication to Yahoo!. Please join me in wishing her all the best.

Jill

Source:Valleywag

Alas, Mark Cuban. You soft-shoed your way into my heart — but not America’s. Cuban has been booted off Dancing with the Stars. His crime? Letting his nerd flag fly, in high-waisted pants and black-framed glasses. Here’s a recap of his brief dancing career:

• Mark Cuban’s money shot
• Mark Cuban feels no pain
• Mark Cuban bores the bojangles out of us
• Mark Cuban geeks out

Looking for a copy of Options, Fake Steve Jobs blogger Dan Lyons’s parody of the Apple guru? As I type this, Borders in San Mateo has 3 copies. The San Francisco stores in Union Square and Stonestown each have 5. Sometimes, people, you need to quit Googling and pick up the phone. Dial now and ask them to hold you one, which they’ll do for three days.

Source:Valleywag

newVideoPlayer(”Dancing_Mark.flv”, 475, 376);
Once again, Internet billionaire Mark Cuban is safe for one more week on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” This one I didn’t get — but then again, I didn’t really understand why Yahoo paid $5.7 billion for Broadcast.com, either.

For the record, j’adore le Peter Kafka, managing editor of Silicon Alley Insider, the New York-based tech blog from disgraced stock analyst Henry Blodget. But seriously, girlfriend needs to loosen up. First of all, last time I was in town, the former Forbes writer totally ditched a little cocktail hour I threw in an East Village bar. Now, he freely admits to missing out the drunken, gossip-laden “debauchery” at a party thrown by TiVo and RealNetworks. I wasn’t even there, and I got a story out of the party. I hear Blodget is a taskmaster. Hank, baby, for your readers’ sakes: Let this guy roll into the office a little later. (Photo of Kafka by Glen Davis)

Source:Valleywag

“ABC is the only major broadcast network that is using the staff of its evening newscast to produce a separate and distinct daily program for a Web audience,” a New York Times feature reports today. Among the differences from the broadcast show: More casually-dressed correspondents, plus longer back-and-forths between anchor and reporter that would be cut to seven seconds on cable. But ABC’s online clips are shackled by two Web video blunders: First, the site’s layout is a mess, lacking either a narrrative focus or a clear hierarchy of content. Worse, ABC’s videos aren’t easily — if at all — embeddable. For all the news crew’s hard work, surfers won’t discover the Web-only segments on their favorite blogs. ABC seems to expect us to come to abcnews.com and click around for clips. How very 1.0.

newVideoPlayer(”Mark_Cuban_is_Safe.flv”, 475, 376);
Mark Cuban is safe for another week on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” From his grim expression, though, you’d think he was all but convinced he was off the show — note how it takes a few seconds for his win to register. Kym Johnson, his dancing partner, also seems shocked by the voters’ choice.