What is Digg?Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate
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- WiggyWack, on 12/12/2007, -21/+265This has nothing to do with them dropping iTunes. Ratings are dropping due to the writers' strike. When advertisers pay in advance and a show doesn't hit a guaranteed rating point, they refund the money. That's what's happening.
- PistolSO, on 12/12/2007, -31/+106Hope this means Zucker is fired soon. NBC needs iTunes more than iTunes needed NBC.
- inactive, on 12/12/2007, -13/+84The problem is that NBC was already in fourth place and although they claim that the 15 million they made from iTunes was not significant enough to stay, they failed to admit that iTunes gave many of their shows free publicity. iTunes, you may remember, is what saved The Office from cancellation. Now all the other networks are reaping the benefits of iTunes publicity instead and the writer's strike is making it even worse.
Good-bye, Mr. Zucker, you moron. - WinGeek, on 10/15/2008, -26/+76Nothing to do with iTunes.
- Dorkside, on 12/12/2007, -11/+49This seems bias against NBC. Isn't the refund because of the writers strike and not because of the quality of their shows?
Very misleading. - fishbert, on 12/12/2007, -9/+36"... while the fanboy in us wants to blame this solely on NBC’s pulling its shows from iTunes, the reality is that NBC/Universal seems to just not have all that many shows worth watching these days."
No *****. That's what happens when you don't have any writers. - fascistpig, on 12/12/2007, -21/+45The world does not revolve around Apple or Steve Jobs. jesus ***** christ. Apple fan boys who misrepresent articles are just as bad as Fox News.
- WinGeek, on 10/15/2008, -7/+29Ya, this is in the apple section. The rules of this section state that everything that is not apple must be bashed. Even if reason tells you it has nothing to do with apple.
- cliffzdude, on 12/12/2007, -2/+20The article got the point completely backwards. The problem NBC is experiencing with ad revenues isn't because they moved from iTunes, its because TV networks are all hemorrhaging due to the intertubes. TV Ratings upon which ad rates are based DON'T INCLUDE iTunes downloads anyway.
One could hypothesize that if NBC stayed on iTunes they'd make up for the revenue shortfall (refund) with revenue generated from iTunes sales, but that wasn't the point the article was (poorly) trying to make. - machole, on 12/12/2007, -3/+21It's a bit odd to put a direct link between NBC's problems and iTunes. Why is everyone ignoring the fact that NBC programming has been on a decline for years REGARDLESS of the Apple relationship.
Sure, it stinks to not have NBC on iTunes but let's be honest. There's a strike, iTunes video isn't a huge success and not many of us would have bought those shows anyway. - thebellmaster1x, on 12/12/2007, -5/+22So, as much as I agree with this guy's position on the whole NBC/iTunes thing, I have to say that this article--if you can call it that--has basically no content at all.
- Gabberwok, on 12/12/2007, -13/+29NBC simply can't get anything right. And now with the combination of no iTunes and a writers' strike, I'm sure the ratings for Heroes and the Office will never be the same again - not to mention whatever other shows they're trying to pass as television these days.
- gjscds, on 12/12/2007, -11/+26Thank you. These Digg nerds are obnoxiously ego-centric. Especially the Ron Paul ones.
Maturity 101. The universe does not revolve you. Maturity 102. Life did not begin when you were born. - CrazedChemist, on 12/12/2007, -2/+17Either way, stupid/misleading article title
- Mononuclear, on 12/12/2007, -3/+17you totally missed the point of the comment. The loss in viewers has nothing to do with itunes and everything to do with writer strike.
- colincornaby, on 12/12/2007, -3/+17Yes, and the article says it has nothing to do with iTunes.
- ZachPruckowski, on 12/12/2007, -2/+11No this deals with low-quality prime-time shows in the fourth-quarter. With the exception of a few half-hour comedies, NBC's prime-time schedule has been more or less unaffected in the fall (they're screwed this spring though). NBC's problem predates the strike. The problem is that they don't have any really strong shows. Over the last few years, their traditional strong shows have either ended or jumped the shark. They haven't had any mega-hits to compensate. They just don't have a CSI or American Idol. And TV as a whole has been down.
This isn't a result of the writer's strike, it's a result of crappy ratings (whether that's because of bad writing or bad management is an open question). Having more episodes won't fix their problem, they need higher ratings. If the writer's strike didn't happen, NBC would still be in the crapper here.
NBCs problems predate iTunes. Their iTunes decision was really dumb, but is at best only the icing on the cake.
These ad-spots apply only to TV airings. When they sell ads, they guarantee ratings. So if they sell Pepsi an ad during Heroes, they'll say, "We'll run your ad during Heroes which will reach 10 million people". If Heroes reaches 11 million people, they can negotiate higher rates next time. If only 8 million people tune in to watch, NBC owes Pepsi "make-goods", which are ads to cover the gap between promised and delivered audience.
Specifically, they owed make-goods from the spring, and now owe even more from the fall, and have nowhere to put them. You could blame the writer's strike for putting NBC's spring season in jeopardy, but even if they had the spring, they'd be spending most of the ad-spots on make-goods for the fall (which would eliminate their spring revenue). They're just paying off in cash what they'd have to pay off in ad-spots otherwise. - link5280, on 12/12/2007, -1/+10Title and article differ.... inaccurate and misleading...
- imdwalrus, on 12/12/2007, -2/+10"NBC has missed pretty much all of its advertising goals, forcing it to refund on average about $500,000 per advertiser. Now, we’re not saying if we could buy Battlestar Galactica on iTunes none of this would have happened, but throw in Heroes, and maybe you’re onto something…"
Correct me if I'm wrong, but how does buying ad-free downloads correlate to advertising? NBC's making money from it, sure, but it's definitely not related to ads in any way.
The writer seems to be overlooking a few significant things, like the fact that NBC ran out of new episodes of The Office a week or two after the strike began, or that Heroes isn't getting nearly as positive of a reception as it did last year, or that (aside from Chuck and maybe Bionic Woman), I haven't heard anything about any of their new shows for this season. - manfrin, on 12/12/2007, -18/+26Great job at putting in yet another misleading, Apple-fanbouying title. NBC losing money has pretty much nothing to do with iTunes, but you had to throw in in there. Great job Cliff!
- YuriSakazaki, on 12/12/2007, -4/+11This has NOTHING to do with iTunes. They were talking about this on NPR earlier. NBC was paid by advertisers a year ago to provide butts in seats for this season's prime time shows. Yet with there being no new episodes, people aren't watching. People not watching means people aren't watching the ads, and NBC is refunding money on their own volition because it's the right thing to do if you're not properly providing a service, which for NBC is viewership for the ads. People saying NBC has no good shows to watch obviously have no idea that advertisers pay far out the ass to have ads on shows like My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, ER, and The Office, among others.
Saying this has anything to do with iTunes is completely off the mark. Buried. - lex0nyc, on 12/12/2007, -2/+9que?
- SouthsideIrish, on 12/12/2007, -1/+8So, I can use Hulu to put TV shows on m iPhone? No, actually I can't. Guess I will stick to bittorrent.
- johnpaul191, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6NBC really thinks (thought?) it could get a bigger audience with other interweb methods of distribution (streaming and/or download). it was not a pro/con internet thing, but them being pissed at the iTunes contract.
- ahoyhoy, on 12/12/2007, -2/+8NBC has The Office, Earl, Scrubs, Heroes, and Conan; practically the only 5 shows I still watch regularly on network TV.
- Logicexe, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6"http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/wf
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I remain unconvinced :P - inactive, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6Bury me all you want, but it is true. This is not due to iTunes AT ALL. Newsflash...the shows that went on iTunes did NOt see an increase in ratings when they went on. Nor have they seen a decrease in ratings since htey left. So they only "loss" is what they were making with iTunes that they aren't making now. And it is not even close to the amount given. And most of that has to do with the strike.
- DolphinGL, on 12/12/2007, -3/+9It's okay if NBC bleeds cash and dies. All they need is an infusion of Claire Bennet's blood and they'll be fine.
- zeejay, on 12/12/2007, -0/+5How could the the writer's strike be the problem if it's hitting every network equally across the board? The problem is crap programming and poor overall strategy. iTunes had nothing to do with it, but still, it's bad karma to abandon your most ardent fans. (Ones willing to *pay* to view your stuff.)
- nospinhere, on 12/12/2007, -1/+6These shows are missing the goals because of the writers strike and the fact that they have to show repeats. This has nothing to do with itunes. As a matter of fact every network is going to have to refund some money back to advertisers who have already paid. They paid for X number of viewers, and without new shows they are not going to get it.
Attributing this to NBC pulling out of itunes is like saying a car accident in LA was caused by a malfunctioning light in Corpus Christi. Nice try apple homers, but not everybody was born yesterday. - KeepSwinging, on 12/12/2007, -0/+5If NBC is that hard-up for cash they can just have the heroes season finale be kristen bell and hayden paniterre showering for 45 minutes and they'll have more money then they can count.
- crakbot, on 12/12/2007, -4/+9You Apple fanboys are amazing. Every network is giving adspace or refunds right now as ratings are ***** for everybody. Why do diggers hate everything...Well, everything except Apple, Google, and Ron Paul. Funny thing is, Apple is more of an "evil" company than Microsoft. Apple tries to trick you into some sort of lifestyle purchase and you fanboys fall right for it. Microsoft is an uptight business and they pretty much admit it. Apple makes some nice products but the fact their slick advertising has people rallying behind a corporation is pretty pathetic on an individual level but pretty genius on a marketing level.
- YuriSakazaki, on 12/12/2007, -13/+17No, they really didn't, considering the paybacks have absolutely NOTHING to do with iTunes.
- LeeSoong, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4I went to buy shows of iTunes - but they are gone. Too Bad.
Fortunately for NBC, there exist many, many free distribution channels for their shows on the interwebs, after all it's not a big truck.
iTunes is a one-stop-shop for any content.
So is Walmart and Amazon. - inactive, on 12/12/2007, -4/+8Of course, this has absolutely NOTHING to do with iTunes at all. Their schedule is weak. And has been for quite a few years. They were losing money BEFOER they dumped iTunes. But being a pathetic Mac fanboy site, they rely on ***** to prove points.
- mmaf, on 12/12/2007, -11/+15Marked as inaccurate, NBC is refunding advertisers because of the writers strike, not because if iTunes.
- ahoyhoy, on 12/12/2007, -1/+5They aren't technophobic, dumbass, they just want to be in control of how they distribute their content. Why should Apple be allowed a monopoly on .99 downloads, when it seems like the NBC ad-supported site does the same thing quite well?
- technoredneck, on 12/12/2007, -1/+5I'm surprised you didn't get buried for that. Whenever I state something similar, it's a one-way ticket to -127 land.
- Duositex, on 12/12/2007, -1/+5Maturity 103: Life does not end when you die.
- GruntboyX, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3ha ha Thats a funny thought. Apple Fanbois = Fox News.
- LordBoreal51, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4I find your comment strange, considering TFA says, "while the fanboy in us wants to blame this solely on NBC’s pulling its shows from iTunes, the reality is that NBC/Universal seems to just not have all that many shows worth watching these days" That seems to refute the iTunes theory you apparently dislike...
- thewump, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3They'll have to start covering Ron Paul to draw internet traffic
- Vtorch, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4What a DUMB-ASS Digg.
The Macenstein blog post references to a Yahoo article that mentions nothing about Apple iTunes. The sumbitter of this article wants people to believe that iTunes is the reason for this. - bigsteve, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3Might be time for a switch to decaf.
Just sayin'. - mstump, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3Wow. Just, wow.
- machole, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4Wow... it must suck to be so predictable that people only need to read your name to know how huge a load of crap you're going to throw into a conversation.
- NSResponder, on 12/12/2007, -2/+5The problem predates the writers' strike. Zucker's done a lousy job.
-jcr - elmilusos, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3Is anyone here a HULU beta tester? I am, and let me tell you it rocks!!! Why pay $2 when you can view a 30 min show for free with 3 :30 ads from a single advertiser? I just got accepted into the hulu bet testing program and so far I am loving it. It is actually a step forward for NBC. I don't care to save a TV show on my iPod. I rather use the diskspace for more music or tons of podcasts... but this TV shows I can just go to the site and watch them full screen with better quality. It is IMHO actually more damaging to iTunes to not have NBC in their catalog than for NBC...
- PhineasPoe, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3Actually, it doesn't have anything to do with the writers' strike. From the source article:
"The networks' problems emerged even before the Writers Guild of America went on strike November 5. The networks had enough first-run shows to get them through November, and repeats and replacement programming will not begin in earnest until January -- when their problems will likely start to worsen.
Among the Big Four networks, NBC has the most serious ad shortfall, as its prime-time ratings are down most dramatically. Meanwhile, none of its new series this season have caught on with viewers...
"We will have about 85 hours of original, scripted, first-run programming in the first quarter," Manze said, citing the return of dramas "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (which previously aired on NBC's sister cable net USA Network) and "Medium."
In February, NBC will premiere mid-season drama "Lipstick Jungle." It also has first-run episodes of "Law & Order: SVU," "ER," "Chuck," "Friday Night Lights," "Las Vegas," "Scrubs" and "My Name Is Earl" yet to air."
They still have new shows in their pocket and their trouble started before the writers' strike even happened. Of course their problem isn't that they dropped out of iTunes either, it's that they are making ***** shows that nobody watches. - MacParrot, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4What I never understood about them pulling out of iTunes is why they were purposely limiting their distribution model? They did it because they were going to offer it for free elsewhere with ad revenue instead? That's like saying I'm not going to sell my popular toy X at Target because I don't like their CEO, but will sell it at a loss at Walmart with paid ad inserts to make up the difference. THAT'LL show em!
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