October 31, 2005: Less than three weeks after launching video downloads with iTunes 6, Apple reveals that it has already sold more than 1 million music videos.
Apple’s dive into the online digital video market — with 2,000 music videos, Pixar short films and a selection of hit TV shows for $1.99 — looks like the logical next step after selling individual songs on iTunes. Passing the 1 million download benchmark so quickly suggests the plan is a roaring success.
iTunes video: A logical step
Previously, buying a TV episode online and watching it on an iPod sounded like science fiction. And iTunes’ 1 million videos milestone was about more than music videos and bite-size TV: Apple was testing whether the digital storefront that disrupted the music industry could do the same for television and movies. Long before streaming services made on-demand entertainment de rigueur, iTunes gave Hollywood (and viewers) a new way to think about how video gets distributed, purchased and consumed.
“Selling one million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests there is a market for legal video downloads,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a press release marking the occasion. “Our next challenge is to broaden our content offerings, so that customers can enjoy watching more videos on their computers and new iPods.”
As with so much of what Apple has done over the years, the move to start selling TV shows and other video content came at the perfect time. YouTube was still in its infancy (hence people actually paid money for music videos). However, increased access to high-speed internet finally made video streaming possible for ordinary users.
I got my first broadband connection around this time. Previously, anything more than downloading a short video clip proved totally unfeasible. Getting broadband was like being blasted into the future.
Apple’s long embrace of video
The iTunes video launch in 2005 seemed like a natural fit for Apple. The company has a long history of letting users watch videos on their machines. As far back as the 1980s, Apple experimented with demos, like Steve Perlman’s QuickScan, that allowed video playback to run on a Mac. In 1991, Apple introduced Mac users to QuickTime, which served as the standardized digital video tool for a long time.
By 2005, Apple was working toward a future in which it would produce mobile devices able to support video. This was crucial if downloading music videos and other material was going to live up to its potential — just as the iPod had been key to iTunes music downloads.
iPod Classic with video is a perfect match for iTunes
In October 2005, Apple launched the fifth-gen iPod Classic, with a larger-than-ever screen. This introduced video playback to the music player for the first time. According to the biography Becoming Steve Jobs, the Apple chief pitched new Disney CEO Bob Iger on the idea of opening up his shows to digital distribution by showing him the new video iPod.
“Would you consider putting your TV shows on this?” Jobs asked. Iger answered in the affirmative without missing a beat.
Ultimately, Apple secured deals to sell downloads of hit shows like Desperate Housewives, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. The music video offerings merged this new focus on video with Apple’s existing deals with record labels. Videos by artists like Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim and Kanye West helped push iTunes past the 1 million downloads mark.
All about context
Today, when top YouTubers and TikTokers score millions of views within days, and music videos hit the “Billion View Club” faster than ever, the idea that Apple would put out a press release to crow about notching 1 million music video downloads seems astonishingly quaint. However, at the time it was big news. This early success also laid the foundation for Apple expanding into a whole new area of business.
Here in the 2020s, Apple goes beyond merely distributing video. With its Apple TV streaming service, the company now produces its own TV shows and movies. The streaming service features a plethora of shows commissioned by Cupertino, all for $14.99 a month. It captured an estimated 13% of the U.S. streaming market in the second quarter of 2026, according to JustWatch, making it the fourth most popular service.
Whether Apple TV ultimately beats Netflix or not, it all started for Apple in 2005 with the launch of iTunes video downloads.
Do you remember the first music video or TV show you downloaded using iTunes? Leave your comments below.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
One response to “Today in Apple history: iTunes video takes world by storm”
Ah! That was my first Apple product ever. I had to save a lot of money due to the currency exchange but it was worth. Eleven years later, it still works!