Mormon Channel Content Available on Demand
Article Highlights
- Content is available for free by accessing itunes.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- Broadcasts are available in 13 languages.
- The iTunes broadcasts are available several weeks before printed materials in some parts of the world.
“The main focus for us is to get the words of apostles and prophets to members.”
—Bob Jones, product manager
As of August 2010, the Church is providing content on demand through its official iTunes page, the Mormon Channel. In addition to content from the Mormon Channel radio station, the page will provide content from general conference, CES broadcasts, Church magazines, Mormon Messages, and other Church products for download.
“The main focus for us is to get the words of apostles and prophets to members,” said Bob Jones, a product manager in the Church’s Audiovisual Department. “We don’t care if you’re at home watching TV or on your computer or on the bus with a portable device—we want you to have the words of apostles and prophets.”
The Mormon Channel is accessible directly from the Internet at itunes.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, which opens the page in iTunes (iTunes can be downloaded for free onto any computer through www.apple.com/itunes/download). Unlike the Mormon Channel’s mobile phone application, which uses an Internet connection to stream content, broadcasts on the iTunes page can be downloaded directly onto a computer or mobile device. Because the files are saved on the devices after downloading, they can be played without an Internet connection. Users can also subscribe and have new episodes downloaded automatically.
“As technology and processes allow us to make Church content more readily available, we’re going to use it,” Brother Jones said.
The Mormon Channel includes separate pages for several languages, which are being populated with Church material in American Sign Language, Cantonese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Tongan.
With the Mormon Channel, Church members can access broadcasts like general conference much faster than in the past. Translated broadcasts that are uploaded to iTunes are instantly available to anyone in the world with an Internet connection, cutting several weeks off the time Church members in some countries typically wait for them. The Church is working to provide translated content online as quickly as possible.
“When you can hear the words of apostles and prophets as soon as possible, that has an impact,” Brother Jones said. “You feel connected. You feel like you’re part of something bigger—the worldwide Church. We hope it strengthens members’ testimonies and desire to participate in technology and use the words of apostles and prophets more often.”
