Discovery Communications to Offer Programs Via iTunes

Discovery Communications on Tuesday looked to the iTunes Music Store to sell its programs like “MythBusters,” among others, in a move meant to help the company offer products and service via new digital mediums, The Washington Post reports.

The announcement comes at a time when many new digital platforms have emerged, and the major broadcast and television networks are hoping to cash in by incorporating advertisements within the new platforms, according to the Post. Currently, advertisements have not yet been integrated with any iTunes video content, the Post reports.

Just last month, Discovery opened up two Web video-focused sites, Discovery Channel Beyond and Travel Channel Beyond, and the company plans to launch Animal Planet Beyond on Wednesday, Don Baer, Discovery’s senior vice president for strategy and development, told the Post.

ITunes users will now be able to pay $1.99 for each Discovery Channel show, and Apple Computer and Discovery will evenly divide the generated revenue, the Post reports.

To differentiate itself from other firms offering similar services, Discovery will sell educational or instructional programming, like video clips on landmarks across the United States, in portable form, according to the Post.

Baer told the Post, “Knowledge-based programming—that’s what we can do that no one else can do as well. No one has stepped up to do this yet [in a portable way].”

In April, Discovery announced it would offer streaming video clips through Google Earth, Google’s satellite mapping software.

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