• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 6, 2005

If there was any doubt on-demand TV programs are in vogue, one only has to take a look at the iTunes Music Store this morning: Now NBC Universal is selling its shows for $1.99 each. And the question everyone wants to have answered soon is--will iTunes be the dominant place to go for on-demand video content?

NBC isn't waiting to find out. In a bit of one-upmanship, last night NBC and iTunes quietly started offering a slew of shows: NBC's "Law & Order," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Office" and "Surface," as well as such cable shows as USA's "Monk" and Sci-Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica." NBC outdid Disney's deal set two months ago, where only a handful of Disney shows would be available.

Using the iTunes Music Store site, NBC has grabbed a bit of marketing support as well. NBC is using iTunes as a place where viewers can get the date and time of its shows.

Surely CBS will come around soon as well. CBS chairman Les Moonves said recently that he is examining all on-demand alternatives. Fox seems to be waiting in the wings, not having made any major decisions as yet. It naturally has DirecTV in its camp; Fox owner News Corp. owns a majority stake in DirecTV.

For all networks, it seems iTunes--among other things--wants to become the next TV Guide for programming, seemingly helping to market TV networks' traditional businesses as they also experiment with the alternative on-demand business. If iTunes succeeds as a high-profile destination for all things entertainment and on-demand, it could no doubt act as a launching pad for new TV shows as well.

The acid test will naturally come soon, examining, for example, how many iTune sales NBC can get from "Law & Order" or how ABC will fare selling "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost."

Right now most executives don't really know what to expect. That's why those at NBC have also done deals with DirecTV where--through a new DirecTV DVR--consumers can buy episodes of shows the day after they've aired on the network.

All this may not give a clear indication of what's happening with the on-demand world. What we need are stories with clear headlines like: "More "Lost" episodes sold through iTunes than DirecTV or Comcast!"

Then we will have a clue where the business is going.