– ITN: The multi-tentacled, multi-platform assault from the multi-media ITN On division continues. The news agency is making news bulletins available via the iTunes Store. It’s the same stuff ITN offers to mobile users like those on 3 (UK, world, sport, entertainment and business news including a daily soccer bulletin) but supported by pre-roll advertising. Where I come from, they call this a “podcast” – the new ITN downloads are currently available via the podcast section and not Apple’s (NSDQ: AAPL) TV downloads section, which badly needs some local programming, as seems to be suggested in some reports. ITN recently got carriage on Joost and YouTube.
– YouTube: Just in time for the country’s embarrassing exit from the Rugby World Cup (well, nearly), YouTube has launched a localised version in New Zealand, the latest in its nationalisation programme. The New Zealand Herald complains: “The Aussie launch came with Network Ten, ABC, Seven, Sky News, Southern Cross View and Fairfax Media deals. New Zealand gets TVNZ, 100% Pure New Zealand and Sky News, with the glaring omission of TVWorks, not to mention smaller local channels.”