NerdTV, first ever online television series

PBS has launched the first ever a download-only television series, NerdTV, “essentially Charlie Rose for geeks - a one-hour interview show with a single guest from the world of technology.”

While the prospect of watching interviews with the likes of Steve Woz and Bill Joy gets this nerd all excited, what’s more interesting - no, insanely cool - is that NerdTV’s approach flies in the face of the MPAA’s demonization of downloading, turns it on its head, and gives a particular audience what they want, how they want it - on demand, downloadable television:

"NerdTV viewers are encouraged to download and copy the shows, share them with friends and even post them on their own Web sites — all legally. This groundbreaking series will be distributed under a Creative Commons license, so viewers can redistribute the shows or edit their own non-commercial version. The 13 one-hour shows will be made available on a weekly basis after the launch date, and all previous episodes will continue to be available through the NerdTV Web site."

Yeah, PBS. Us nerds thank you.

Update: several readers have noted that NerdTV is NOT the first ever download-only television series, only the first produced by a network. True, that - for a listing of others, check out Vidcast (thanks, Michael). Wesley points out, “And to be totally accurate, you can’t really call it television if its not on TV!” Oh, you nitpicker, you!

NerdTV [PBS]

Die Dulci Fruere