iTunes Video Store is missing out on the long tail

Apple announced today more new programs in the iTunes Video Store from CNN and the Cartoon Network. As an aside, I cannot endorse The Venture Brothers highly enough although you can watch the episodes streamed for free directly from the Comedy Central site. However, the real appeal of the iTunes Video Store is the possibility of downloading and watching it later assuming you have an iPod video or (more likely) a laptop to watch it on at your leisure and don't mind the DRM.

The problem with it is the content - Apple offers pretty much the same content that you can get either a) on Network television, b) on the web for free or c) on DVD. Given that the price point the shows are offered at (~ $2 / episode) is comparable to DVD and the quality is definitely not comparable to DVD, I'm somewhat skeptical that it will have widespread appeal without some tweaks.

OK, so what should they be doing? Offer people the stuff they can't easily get. The store is really a video on demand system so that's the type of content they should be offering people. Here's a concrete example: a lot of automobile enthusiasts got hooked on the BBC show Top Gear when it was offered in the US on the Discovery Channel. And then it vanished while Discovery launched elaborate plans for a (probably ill fated but that's a topic for another blog post) US-centric version. So fans of the show must now resort to clips on online video services, bittorrent and (now) the streamed version of the show direct from the BBC. Basically it's a big hassle and I would gladly pay serveral dollar per episode to not have to put up with it. By the same token I'd pay for Formula One races, World Rally Championship events and the 24 Hours of LeMans. I'm sure there are lots of people who would pay for Soccer coverage or cricket or the superbowl. I don't really care for term The Long Tail but it really seems to apply here and given the competition for the popular stuff, I think that's where Apple should be focussing.