TV shows make down-under debut on Aussie iTunes

Australians will finally be able to download television shows for their iPods after Apple made the service available on iTunes Australia some three years after it made its debut in the US.

Australia’s free-to-air TV networks including the ABC, Seven Network and Nine Network, along with US-produced programs from The Walt Disney Company’s ABC Studios, Disney Channel and MTV Networks, will all provide downloadable television shows on the iTunes Store in Australia.

“We’re thrilled to bring television programming to the iTunes Store in Australia,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We’re off to a great start with shows from Australia’s top networks combined with favourites from the US, which customers in Australia will love being able to watch on their computer, iPod or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.”

Television shows currently available from the iTunes store include, Desperate Housewives, Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, and South Park. Local television programs such as Canal Road, Summer Heights High, McLeod’s Daughters and Sea Patrol are also available.

All television shows will be priced at $2.99 per episode and are compatible with both the iPhone and the Apple TV set top box.

The availability of iTunes television shows comes just days after the opening of the Sydney Apple store and only weeks before the launch of the iPhone 3G in Australia.