The availability of TV shows from iTunes Stores outside the US is proceeding very slowly.

It's not an Apple-specific problem - TV content from services such as Veoh, BitTorrent and Joost is largely limited to the US. The problem seems to be rooted in the complex web of agreements that cover TV distribution.

It can have some strange consequences. For instance, although Battlestar Galactica is made for the Sci Fi Channel, it gets shown first in Australia on Channel Ten. Even though Sci Fi Channel is a premium channel (in the sense that it is not part of the basic service), paying customers must wait for the series to appear on free-to-air.

With that sort of situation, is there any wonder that the download market is a mess - or, more politely, underdeveloped?

Anyway, back to Apple: iTunes Canada has joined the US and UK stores in offering TV downloads. The range seems fairly limited so far, and early top sellers are mainly episodes of South Park, with ice hockey games taking first and third spots.

I can understand production houses and networks being a bit wary of offering downloads at all, but given the popularity of the iTunes Store it makes no sense for them to avoid Apple if they're dealing with anyone else.

They also need to get with the program and retain Internet rights to their content, regardless of what deals they do with broadcasters on a national level. The longer they delay, the more people get used to downloading unofficial torrents and the harder it will be to convert them into paying customers.