ITV show available on iTunes first
December 14, 2009
ITV is to make US drama The Vampire Diaries available for viewers to buy on Apple’s iTunes months before it airs on UK television in a move in part designed to combat online piracy.
Episodes of the show, which is not due to air on digital channel ITV2 until February, are being made available through the ITV2 area on iTunes immediately after the show airs in the US each night. The first episode is priced at £1.89 (E2) for standard definition and £2.49 for high definition.
Warner Brothers, which sold the show to ITV in July, is aiming to build buzz ahead of the UK launch of the show and cut down on illegal piracy by eliminating the delay window between episodes airing in the US and foreign markets.