Open University Reaches Epic Milestone of 20 Million Downloads on iTunes U

If you’re a fan of iTunes, and you’re a student of some major university out there, then you might have skimmed through iTunes U, or iTunes University. It’s designed to help students continue their learning with extra materials, visual elements, and other assorted materials based on a particular university. And, within that store, you could find The Open University, and they’ve just reached a pretty big milestone for the company.

The Open University is the first university worldwide to reach 20 million downloads. That’s 20 million downloaded tracks, which actually equals to something like a quarter of a million tracks per week, according to the press release. Since the launch of the Open University in June of 2008, it seems that the downloads have been soarcing off the digital shelves.

Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, said: “I am delighted that the popularity of The Open University on iTunes U continues to go from strength to strength. Our success lies in providing original, custom-built content for iTunes U, linked to current and popular OU courses. Students are able to incorporate tracks into their studies, while informal learners anywhere in the world can tap into these excellent materials for free.”

Sticking with the whole university feel, it seems that people who have downloaded content from The Open University have done so to continue on their educational goals. A non-surprising 96% of customers responding to a survey said they use the materials for learning . . . Which shouldn’t be all that shocking. Having the ability to download content that you can watch, read, or listen to whenever you want is essential to the business model, and it’s obviously working for the company quite well.