Hit television shows from Fox Entertainment Group were added to the iTunes Music Store on Monday. Shows from the Fox, FX, Speed, Fuel TV and 20th Century Fox Television library are available beginning today for $1.99 per episode.
“We’ve been working with Fox for a while, so we’re really happy about this,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, told Macworld.
With its entry on iTunes, Fox becomes the largest network debut to date, the companies said. Fox has added 16 series including “24,” “Prison Break” and “The Shield.” For now the shows are only available as episodic purchases — there is no Season Pass purchase option.
“They [Fox] decided they wanted to launch without a season pass,” said Cue. “The show is almost over and we will add the season purchase when the season ends.”
While Fox’s initial entry into the iTunes store comes without the Season Pass, Apple said they expect the network will want to add that feature for consumers in the future.
“I would hope so and expect that to be the case,” said Cue. “It’s been great for shows like Lost, so I would expect that to happen.”
Other shows include comedies, including FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and FOX’s “Stacked;” reality series, including FOX’s “Unan1mous,” FX’s “Black. White,” and “30 Days;” and favorites from the 20th Century Fox Television library, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Firefly” and “Lost in Space.”
Additionally, the Fox programming will feature a variety of specialized programming from SPEED, including “Pinks,” “Unique Whips” and FUEL TV’s action sports diary “First Hand.”
With 20 different networks now on the iTunes Music Store, Apple said they are now selling over 1 million videos per week.
Update Added information from interview with Apple executive.