In Canada, Apple TV Junkies and Mad Men fans are at a crossroads. No one there is broadcasting Mad Men Season 3, however, it is available as a digital download from iTunes Canada. Could this be a trend towards download-only distribution?
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand it shows that producers are willing to explore digital-only distribution in a particular market and cut out the middle man (i.e. cable TV providers) all together. I’d love to eliminate my cable bill and pay for only the quality programming I want. I like this trend. There are only a few shows I find worth watching anyways. Eliminating cable, I could purchase 16 to 48 episodes per month (depending on cable TV package). Unlike my cable service, I’d have something to show for it!
This brings us to the other hand. What am I left with? Protected video that can only be played via iTunes or Apple devices. Many of you may be an Apple TV Junkie and proclaim “So?” However, digital rights management (DRM) is evil and not cool. The Apple TV is still a hobby and I’m not prepared to lock myself into the technology “du jour”. The Apple TV hardware platform hasn’t seen any improvements (aside from storage) since it debuted over two years ago. As big as iTunes is now, it wont be around forever (see Yahoo! Music and MSN Music) and nor will the Apple TV.
I want to support digital distribution and purchase content, however, the built-in obsolescence costs of DRM are just too high. Alternate download sites are looking more attractive and it has everything to do with freedom of choice to use Apple TV, Boxee or any media player I want to.







