Thanks to the new TV.com application from CBS, you can now stream clips and full episodes of popular TV shows like ‘CSI:Miami’ or the original ‘Star Trek’ right to your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can even watch full episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, if you are so inclined. Besides shows from CBS, the app (iTunes link) also features shows from CNet, Showtime, and the CW. Currently, the only other app that features full episodes of TV shows is Joost, but we are still waiting for iPhone apps from other TV networks, Hulu, or Sling.
Great App, But Not Enough Content
Overall, the application is smartly designed – the scrolling bar for the different channels at the top of the app is a very neat feature, for example – but the amount of content is somewhat limited. That, of course, is a problem that TV.com is quite familiar with, especially after Hulupulled its videos from the service’s web site.
The fact that you can’t easily see if TV.com actually has full episodes of a particular show or only clips is especially problematic. A 30-second clip from ‘Numb3rs,’ for example, isn’t usually going to be very interesting, while short clips are probably all you want from the ‘Late Show with David Letterman.’
Will TV.com Push Others to Release Similar Apps?
It’s a shame that there is currently no application that features a broader range of content from a larger number of networks. The Joost application is interesting, but its content, too, is limited, and we are still awaiting the launch of the rumored Hulu application. NBC experimented with an iPhone compatible mobile site a while back that actually featured full episodes, but that site doesn’t seem to feature any full episodes anymore. At least, however, Apple isn’t blocking these apps, which are, after all, competing with the downloadable shows in iTunes.
