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How do you delete tv shows from itunes

How do you permanently delete a tv show from iTunes/iPhone?

Posted on May 6, 2012 4:46 PM

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58 replies

May 12, 2012 11:12 AM in response to Chris CA

No, how do you *really* do it? Pressing "delete" doesn't work. Choosing "delete" from the right-click menu doesn't work.


I am *SOOOOO* tired of iTunes trying to download TV shows that I've purchased on my Apple TV, and I can neither find any way to stop it, nor delete the shows that it's partially downloaded. It's at the point where I'm going to stop purchasing TV shows from iTunes, because it's making a mess of my laptop hard drive.

May 12, 2012 1:54 PM in response to jwutzke

jwutzke wrote:



I am *SOOOOO* tired of iTunes trying to download TV shows that I've purchased on my Apple TV, and I can neither find any way to stop it, nor delete the shows that it's partially downloaded. .

Why would you purchase items and delete them before you have even downloaded them?

You either need to let them finish downloading then delete them or contact iTunes support and ask to remove them from your download queue.


If you do not want items, I suggest you do not waste your money (and save you the aggravation).

May 14, 2012 9:30 AM in response to Jon Thornburg

Jon - there's no "TV shows" box under automatic downloads - just music and apps (and a 3rd, I forget what it is off-hand). And I have "check for automatic downloads" unchecked anyway.


Chris - I think you're missing the point. I'm not "wasting my money", I'm purchasing them and watching them (via streaming) on my ATV2. And having purchased them via my Apple account, presumably any time I want to watch them again in the future, I can either pull them up again on my ATV2 (which I've done before), or I should be able to pull them up on any device (iPhone, iPad) anywhere via my Apple ID.


So to turn your statement around, given the above, why should iTunes even be set up to automatically download a "hardcopy" of a TV show? And the suggested work-around of "let it download and then delete" just shows how silly it is that iTunes automatically downloads shows. So, I could let it download and then delete it (using up bandwidth in the process), and be no worse off -- I could still watch them again on my ATV2, or pull them up on another device via my Apple ID. Why, therefore, shouldn't I be able to stop the downloads from the get-go.

Jul 9, 2012 2:59 PM in response to Spanky02124

Sparky,

I hope this is more helpful than condescension seems to provide:

go to [username] > MUSIC > ITUNES > ITUNES MEDIA > DOWNLOADS


So, on my computer, I open a Finder window, click my user name displayed in the left column, and open each respective folder listed above, then delete the files. Extraordinarily unintuitive -- I go on a mad search for this about every 6 months so completely understand the frustration.

Jul 9, 2012 8:06 PM in response to lc general

lc general wrote:


Because, like the initial question pointed to,

Two different topics seem to have been in this thread.

The initial question (by Spanky0212) simply asked how to delete TV shows from iTunes.

Then jwutzkechimed in with deleting downloads, not items that are already in iTunes.


but they will constantly come back when you do a sync/update/check for downloads.

Sync, update and check for downloads are completely different tasks and in no way related.

Sync does just that. it syncs the iDevice with iTunes.

Update will update OS the iDevice.

Check for downloads has nothign to do with iDevice. It checks iTunes store for items you have not completed downloading.

I don't know why the DELETE / MOVE FILES TO TRASH option doesn't work in iTunes; but the directions I listed above does.

Are the items you are trying to delete, located in the iTunes media folder shown in iTunes prefs > Advanced?

Do you have Keep iTunes media folder organized checked? If not to either of these, iTunes will not delete them.


Per your instructions above, the item will still be listed in iTunes.

Jul 10, 2012 7:01 AM in response to Spanky02124

I don't think there's need to get snarky about the phrase "sync/update/check for downloads" - partly because we simply know what he meant, and partly because the 3 actions, distinct though they may be, often operate in parallel. My own experience illustrates this; about the only time I open iTunes on my laptop is to sync an iDevice... at which point the *first* thing iTunes does is start downloading TV shows, even ones that I've already deleted in the past.


Regarding the nebulous response "Are the items you are trying to delete, located in the iTunes media folder shown in iTunes prefs > Advanced? Do you have Keep iTunes media folder organized checked? If not to either of these, iTunes will not delete them." ... either I'm not following, or the statement is incorrect. For me, the sum total of contents in "iTunes media folder" is "C:\Users\owner\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music". If there should be more, please tell us what that should be; but regardless, I have "Keep iTunes media folder organized" unchecked, and I have music listed in my media folder... but I can delete music. So I don't follow your statment that "iTunes will not delete [such content]", since clearly I can delete music. Rather, the issue is deleting -- permanently -- TV shows.

Aug 20, 2012 5:03 PM in response to Spanky02124

1. Open iTunes

2. Click iTunes Store

3. Go to the iTunes Store Home

4. On the right column is the text "Purchased" with a little bubble that says (new). Click "Purchased"

5. Find the show that you don't want.

6. Click it and then a window should pop up containing the show

7. There should be an (X) next to the show. Click That

8. iTunes will ask you whether you want to make the show hidden. You do.

9. Repeat for all other shows.

That should fix this.

How do you delete tv shows from itunes

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