BBC Worldwide sells shows through iTunes

BBC Worldwide is to sell many of the corporation's most popular shows through Apple iTunes, it confirmed today.

Headline programmes including Torchwood, Life On Mars, Little Britain, Spooks and Ashes to Ashes are now available on the UK version of the service at £1.89 per episode. It makes the BBC the first British broadcaster to offer its shows through the application.

New shows will be available for seven days on the corporation's own iPlayer, as they are currently, before moving to iTunes.

Simon Danker, BBC Worldwide's director of digital media, said: "We want to give audiences a wide variety of options on how and where to view their favourite BBC shows. With more people now choosing to watch TV shows on their iPods, fans of series such as The Mighty Boosh and The Catherine Tate Show can now enjoy those shows wherever they are."

BBC Worldwide is working to make more money from content to help the corporation fund itself. It already deals with YouTube and MySpace and a commercial video on demand service, in development with ITV and Channel 4, is due to launch some time this year.