ilounge.com — Two years ago, the idea of paying $2 per episode for a TV show seemed almost crazy, thanks mostly to DVRs, VCRs and file-sharing networks. But the iTunes Store has changed that, and helped to popularize TV shows such as The Office, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes in the process. Now NBC is threatening to pull out of iTunes. Sound off inside.
Aug 31, 2007 View in Crawl 4
inolesSep 1, 2007
First Rule of Usenet is "Don't Talk about Usenet"
xisterSep 1, 2007
It probably wasn't market research, it was probably the bean counters saying, "Well, if someone downloads it we'll make X amount and we should figure in the loss of profits if three people copy it."
craigjSep 1, 2007
Except that apple didn't say they wanted to double it, they said "Apple revealed that NBC wanted it to pay more than double the wholesale price for each episode..."You fail at reading comprehension, assuming you bothered to read it at all...
craigjSep 1, 2007
The contact was not exclusive. try again.
captnhectorSep 1, 2007
Speaking of which, NBC must know how retarded "we're concerned about piracy" sounds. Have YOU ever seen an iTunes rip on Bittorrent? If you have, please speak up, because I have not. The only way TV gets onto bittorrent is by people ripping the HD stream. iTunes is probably the method of distribution LEAST prone to piracy. No, this was a negotiation breakdown, probably NBC wanted more of the cut than apple was willing to give. I guarantee that NBC will be available on iTunes next season. They'll come crawling back when the bosses realize their mistake.
jmpeagleSep 1, 2007
don't send a letter to the execs, send letter to the advertizers and threaten to boycott
idannybSep 1, 2007
NBC-U responds to Apple?We never asked to double the wholesale price for our TV shows.? (Translation: well, okay ? so we pushed hard for a $4.99 price-point ? But come on guys, everyone knows that during contracting you toss out a high number and then the real negotiations begin. We didn?t think Apple would take us seriously. Geez! Guess Apple heard that we?re telling every media distributor in the world to ditch iTunes in favor of our new Hulu.com venture. Maybe we played our hand too soon? Our inbox is spilling over with ?wishing you well? comments from iTunes customers (not). Damn you Apple! Damn you Digg!)The following is a reformatted version of a statement from Cory Shields, EVP Communications of NBC Universal, regarding its iTunes contract -?We are also disappointed in not being able to successfully negotiate a new iTunes agreement with Apple. We?re hopeful that we can reach a resolution before the existing contract expires. However, we felt it important to set the record straight.We never asked to double the wholesale price for our TV shows. In fact, our negotiations were centered on our request for flexibility in wholesale pricing, including the ability to package shows together in ways that could make our content even more attractive for consumers.It is clear that Apple?s retail pricing strategy for its iTunes service is designed to drive sales of Apple devices, at the expense of those who create the content that make these devices worth buying.In addition, we asked Apple to take concrete steps to protect content from piracy, since it is estimated that the typical iPod contains a significant amount of illegally downloaded material.Furthermore, we want consumers to know that all our returning series, including new episodes, will be available on iTunes through the remainder of the contract, which expires in early December. Our content is also available on NBC.com, Amazon.com, and the soon-to-launch hulu.com.?