Soaking the Brits: iTunes TV Crosses the Pond

Apple (AAPL) made iTunes subscribers in the United Kingdom wait until today for the chance to download  TV shows through the British Apple Music Store and, inexplicably, it’s making them pay extra for the privilege. Individual shows cost £1.89 — $3.81 by today’s exchange rate — almost double the $1.99 Apple charges U.S. customers.

The offerings on apple.com/uk/itunes/ are relatively limited. They are mostly American shows from ABC Studios, Disney Channel, MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Comedy — with a few British series thrown in. According to Apple’s press release, they are offering 28 programs in all:

• Disney’s ABC Studios’ dramas and comedy-dramas
  “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ugly Betty,”
  “Commander in Chief” and “Night Stalker;”
• Disney Channel’s
  renowned children’s programming including “American Dragon: Jake Long,”
  “Kim Possible,” “That’s So Raven,” “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody”
  and Playhouse Disney titles “Handy Manny,” “Little Einsteins” and
  “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse;”
• MTV’s reality favorites “Pimp My Ride,” “Barrio 19,” “Bam’s Unholy Union,” “Laguna Beach,” and “My Sweet Sixteen;”
• Nickelodeon
  children’s programming “Avatar: The Legend of Aang,” “Drake and Josh,”
  “Dora the Explorer,” “Genie in the House” and “SpongeBob SquarePants;”
  and
• Paramount Comedy hits “South Park,” “Comedy Blue,” “Jongleurs Unleashed: Part I,” “That 70’s Show” and “The World Stands Up.”

"You’ll never miss your favourites," reads the website’s promotional copy, with its charming British spelling. "Watch them on your Mac or PC. Or sync them to your
video-enabled iPod and watch them on the go. All without sitting
through a single advert."