American Idol partners with iTunes, Apple

Michael Gay February 18th, 2008

The top show in American has now partnered with Apple to post performances, both music and video, on iTunes the day after they air on TV. Apple will also be a premiere sponsor of the show, just like Ford, AT&T and Coca-Cola. So, what kind of in-show placement will we see? Apple iPod and iTouch will become the show’s official MP3 player and the iPhone will become its official phone handset.

Press release follows below…

PRESS RELEASE — Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Interactive Media, 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia North America and Apple, for the first time, have partnered to bring music fans all of the contestant performances from Season Seven of television’s most popular show exclusively on the iTunes Store. Kicking off with the AMERICAN IDOL Top 24 semifinalists this week, customers can purchase music performances for 99 cents per song, and viewers will be able to purchase the full video of Top 12 finalist performances for $1.99, starting March 12. In addition, beginning today, fans can pre-order performances of their favorite contestants from the iTunes Store, which will be downloaded automatically the day after the show airs.

“We have some truly outstanding talent this year, and by working with Apple and iTunes, we’re giving viewers another great way to enjoy America’s brightest new stars from IDOL,” said Simon Fuller, creator of AMERICAN IDOL and Founder of 19 Entertainment. “I’m sure there will be many memorable performances that viewers will want to relive from this 2008 season.”

“We’ve created a special section on the iTunes Store for IDOL fans with an incredible array of music and video performances from television’s most popular show,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think AMERICAN IDOL viewers are going to love the ability to purchase and download IDOL performances from iTunes.”

iTunes will also provide exclusive direct links from the free streaming performance videos on americanidol.com, the official website of the show and home to MyIdol, the Internet’s largest AMERICAN IDOL fan site. Fans will be able to simply click through to iTunes if they want to purchase their favorite performances to own and enjoy on their iPod, iPhone or AppleTV.

The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music store with over four billion songs sold, and has the world’s largest catalog of over six million songs. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as new iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Pricing & Availability

iTunes 7.6 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download from iTunes. Purchase and download of songs and videos from the iTunes Store requires a valid credit card from a financial institution in the country of purchase. American Idol music and video content is available in the US and Canada only. Music performances are 99 cents and video performances are $1.99 per episode and can be viewed on a Mac or PC, iPod nano with video, fifth generation iPod, iPod classic, iPod touch, iPhone or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.