Take that, Bob Iger. NBC Universal sees Disney’s bet and raises it with a major iTunes content deal: 11 primetime, late-night, cable and “Vintage NBC” The lineup includes “Law & Order”, sketches from “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, “Monk”, and “Dragnet”, “Adam-12”. But the show that could turn out to be the real winner is Sci-Fi’s “Battlestar Gallactica”, a cult favorite with a strong following. Consistent with Apple’s pattern of standard pricing, the shows are $1.99 a download—equating an episode of a new show like “Monk” with antique “Knight Rider”.
For those keeping track, that brings the iTunes total to 16 shows and more than 300 episodes. Apple Chairman Steve Job said via the joint NBCU-Apple press release that iTunes has sold more than 300

(thanks Thomas!) 3 million video downloads since the service launched Oct. 12.
Press release.

Updated: Apple’s stock rose today, after an upbeat analyst report. “We are excited about the prospects for further revenue contribution from iPods due to what we perceive as a positive mix shift to video iPods,” Benjamin Reitzes of UBS said.

Forrester analyst: The lesson here for other forms of distribution—cable video-on-demand, streaming, mobile phones—is this: Start with some popular content and prove the business model. Once the money starts flowing, the rest of the content will follow.

Related:

—Next-Day Downloads Of “Lost” Could Disrupt TV Station Economics

—Creative Associations Call For Cut of Apple iPod Vido Deal

—iPod Video: The ABC Deal