With the iTunes Music Store adding more video content all the time, the TV show distribution paradigm has shifted noticeably, according to Joe Fleischer, chief marketing officer at the online media tracking company Big Champagne.

He told Macworld: "Everybody needs to be making content available as aggressively as they can, because there are certainly people fulfilling that demand by getting it from a friend, sharing over IM or hard drives or whatever. Anyone can have whatever they want, what's important is to create a relationship with a customer now. I think fairly soon the street will probably punish companies that aren't making a very concerted effort in that direction."

But what about the continued presence of TV shows on peer-to-peer file sharing networks? "Certainly iTunes does not contribute to piracy," Mr. Fleischer said. "iTunes is what could separate the film entertainment industry from what happened to music. That's really positive and a really important step.

"I think film entertainment seems to be grasping it quickly, and that bodes well for them. Instead of constantly trying to dial the consumers back, it seems the film entertainment industry is trying to reach out to the consumer, at least they are making an effort to see what the consumers like. It's a positive step and is certainly not hurting."

While the iTMS has had a demonstrative impact on struggling TV shows -- witness the jump in ratings logged by The Office after it debuted on the store -- Forrester Research vice-president Josh Bernoff told Macworld that "the bigger the show, the less of a difference it makes."

He noted: "A lot of people feel The Office was sort of on the bubble, where it might have been picked up or it might have been cancelled, and they were able to get significant number of people interested. It's an echo chamber effect, where it's not just if you watch it, but if you watch it and tell your friends."