ESPN considering offering content on Apple iTunes

Walt Disney owned ESPN Sports Network is said to be considering distributing some of its television programs on Apple’s iTunes music and video service. Disney has already collaborated with Apple and is offering some of its television based shows on iTunes. These shows can be purchased and are compatible for view on the recently launched Apple iPod Video.

They have not started talks with the Macintosh maker yet, however ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer said that they are planning to offer its diet of original shows and game clips to “any pipe, any device”. He also said that ESPN was no longer just a television-based company but instead it is a complete sports media company.

After Disney and ABC, ESPN could become the next major producer of television shows to offer its content on the iTunes digital store. ESPN has taken steps to expand its area of offered services and had recently announced plans to launch a cellphone service under its own brand, called Mobile ESPN. They collaborated with Sprint for that service.

In fact, they were also one of the first media companies to launch a full-fledged high-speed Internet video programming service when they launched the ESPN 360.