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iTunes, App Store, & Apple TV services hit by new outage [u]

The iTunes Store, the iOS and Mac App Stores, and even the Apple TV were among services affected by a midday outage on Thursday, leaving some people unable to reach them or make purchases. [Updated]

The incident began at around 10 a.m. Eastern time, and is still ongoing, according to Apple's System Status page. The problem is also affecting a number of subservices, including the iBooks Store, iTunes Match, iTunes in the Cloud, and the Volume Purchase Program.

As is usual for an ongoing network problem, the company hasn't said what percentage of users are being affected and when normal operations might resume.

Such a disruption is a serious issue for Apple, since it interferes not just with its own revenues but those of developers. It can also prevent people and organizations from fetching important apps and updates.

Apple's online services are occasionally impacted by outages of varying severity. In November, for instance, the company was hit with downtime that impacted not just its online stores, but also Apple Maps. That might have prevented some drivers from using their iPhone to navigate, since they might also have been unable to download an alternative like Waze or Google Maps.

Update: As of noon Eastern time, all services are reportedly back online.