Apple released iTunes 5 recently, and quietly began accepting video podcasts for placement and delivery via the service.
Video clips, playable on a desktop machine equipped with iTunes, can be obtained via the Podcasts feature in iTunes 5. The Wall Street Journal cites the example of New York-based publisher City Magazine, which uploaded links to video clips on its site and now finds them in iTunes.
Other video clips can be found via iTunes as well. Apple has made this service available very quietly, almost as though it were a security update for OS X instead of new functionality for the most popular piece of media management software in the world.
Apple screens audio podcasts for objectionable content before making them available via the iTunes Music Store. It’s likely they would do the same for video, since the potential for offending people in some countries increases greatly with video content.
Much speculation on Apple’s video future has been made regarding iTunes as well as the iPod. Steve Jobs, in his other CEO capacity heading Pixar, is uniquely placed in Hollywood with regards to tech companies.
The possibility of a video iPod, along with downloadable music videos costing $1.99, has been rumored through the summer. Further, Mr. Jobs has spoken favorably of new Disney CEO Robert Iger, and vice versa. The rebuilding of a Disney/Pixar relationship could go beyond the film side, as a huge repository of classic and new Disney content could be made available for a video iPod.
Apple has shown willingness to brand iPods, notably the U2 model and the new Harry Potter version. Disney certainly would not object to another outlet for its content, and with the House of Mouse comes a natural love of branding. A red video iPod with the classic black mouse ears in a white circle, grabbing Disney content from iTunes, would not be a surprising product release to see.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
