You can call it the beginning of a beautiful relationship, or it may seem like a license to print money, but any way you view it, today's announcement that Apple will be the signature sponsor for Fox's American Idol -- that Apple will have exclusive audio and video performance download rights for AI -- is huge. The deal, effective immediately, ensures that all Idol performance downloads will now only be available on Apple's iTunes store. In addition, iTunes will sponsor online streaming of contestant performances on the official American Idol web site. Each and every time you click on the AI site, you'll see links for iPods and iTouches and iPhones, all the cool players and gadgets that Apple sells. And every time you click on the Apple site, you'll see links to Idol.