BBC dramas on iTunes

Top BBC dramas are being made available for sale on iTunes for the first time. Episodes of shows including Torchwood, Life On Mars, Spooks and Robin Hood will be sold for £1.89. Recently aired programmes, such as Ashes to Ashes, will be available on iTunes after they have been made available on the BBC iPlayer.

The Guild made an agreement with the BBC to cover such arrangements last year.

Meanwhile, the number of programmes downloaded or streamed on demand via BBC iPlayer (also covered by in Guild agreements) has reached 17 million, up to 500,000 a day.

Ashley Highfield, Director of BBC Future Media and Technology, says: "While it's still early days, early indications are that BBC iPlayer is having a significant effect in attracting new users to bbc.co.uk.

"To build on this initial success, we continue to reach out to audiences wherever they are, and we now have BBC-branded 'channels' on Yahoo! and partnerships with MSN and Blinkx going live soon. These enable you to watch highlights and excerpts of BBC programmes, as well as clicking on a link to watch the full programme on BBC iPlayer.

"In addition, we are introducing new features on the BBC iPlayer homepage, including improved navigation options and programme recommendations."