Broadcasters NBC, TNT and TBS account for three of the top 10 free apps in the iPad iApp Store right now -- but HuluPlus, Netflix and XFINITY TV, are way down on that list. Netflix is the closest, ranked at 28 with its app.

NBC's latest TV-based iPad app, which came out June 22, is ranked fourth behind arcade game Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD and puzzle game Six Towers HD. TNT and TBS, which both released apps Sept. 8, hold eighth and tenth place, respectively.

The latest NBC app offers full-length episodes that do not require service authentication -- which must not make Comcast and TimeWarner happy -- while TNT and TBS require authentication with a cable service provider in order to watch full episodes. Without authentication, TNT and TBS viewers can only access episode guides, clips and set show reminders.

Obviously TBS and TNT require cable provider credentials so they don’t piss off their biggest customers: the cable providers who pay them a fee per subscriber.

The NBC app was built using Appcelerator, after forming a partnership in June 2011. More on the partnership here. Robert Scoble interviewed CEO Jeff Haynie last year.

NBC's other apps include NBC Live, NBC Nightly News and Bravo Now.

CONTACTS & LINKS

Appcelerator
Website: http://www.appcelerator.com/
Twitter: @appcelerator

Jeff Haynie, CEO
Twitter: @jhaynie
Google+: https://plus.google.com/115686732000714349431/posts

Robert Scoble
Twitter: @scobleizer
Google+: https://plus.google.com/111091089527727420853/posts
Blog: http://scobleizer.com/