As an Apple enthusiast for the last 25 years or so, naturally each Steve Jobs unveiling is a big deal for me. Most of the focus from yesterday is obviously on the new video iPod. But I must admit, it's a sidebar part of the story that's of far more interest to me... Apple has begun selling ABC/Disney TV shows legally for $1.99 a pop.

I'm a new convert to the show LOST. If I miss it on TV for some reason... boom, I can legally download it the next day. (I'm a long-time TiVo evangelist, so this wouldn't happen to me... but still.)

How does this relate to Star Wars?

Fast forward to spring 2006... some shows will begin to debut online and broadcast at the same time. Fast forward to summer 2006... some shows will be online BEFORE broadcast. (NOTE: I'm pretty sure HBO has already tried this once, but I'm too lazy to look it up atm.) Fast forward to winter 2006 and a lot of shows will do it.

Nothing is set in stone by any means, but the earliest realistic date the Star Wars animated show would come out is probably 2007. By that time, I'll probably be "downloading" most of my TV if current trends continue.

How will we watch this new series? In what medium will it debut? What will be the lifecycle through traditional mediums like free TV, pay TV, DVD, video-on-demand and the like? In what order and in what timing? "Always in motion is the future."

Perhaps you will have to unlearn what you have learned.

UPDATE: While I'm enjoying the lively comments, I feel compelled to make mention that I'm in no way suggesting that the iPod will replace big plasma screens for watching entertainment. As I mention above, it's not the playback device that interests me, but the delivery method. Will we "download" shows ("pull"), or will they be broadcast ("push") in the traditional sense? Or both, and with what timing or ratio?