NBC to End iTunes Sales?

[MacRumors]

NYTimes reports that NBC and Apple have been unable to come to an agreement on pricing of its television shows.

As a result, NBC may not renew its contract to sell its television content on the iTunes store.

The media conglomerate — which is the No. 1 supplier of digital video to Apple’s online store, accounting for about 40 percent of downloads — notified Apple of its decision late yesterday, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity because negotiations between the companies are confidential.

NBC had reportedly been seeking better piracy controls and the ability to bundle videos. The decision will not immediately affect availability of programs as the current deal extends through December -- so there is still time for the companies to reach an agreement as the talks continue:

The two companies could still reach an agreement on a new contract before their current deal expires. While each side has so far refused to budge, the talks will continue and have been free of acrimony, the person familiar with the matter said.

Article Link

[Buschmaster]

Either I can buy a season of Scrubs and the Office when it starts again or I can find it in some other manner that will not benefit NBC at all.

Your call, NBC.

[iJawn108]

Originally Posted by Buschmaster

Either I can buy a season of Scrubs and the Office when it starts again or I can find it in some other manner that will not benefit NBC at all.

Your call, NBC.

exactly my sentiments if i lived in the US. I hear season 3 will retail for 18 Schrute Bucks and 4 Stanley Nickles.

[Cloudsurfer]

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

[siurpeeman]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

dvds of tv shows don't come out until the season is over. tv shows on the itunes store are available for purchase the next day. to many, it is a big deal.

[floriflee]

Originally Posted by siurpeeman

dvds of tv shows don't come out until the season is over. tv shows on the itunes store are available for purchase the next day. to many, it is a big deal.

Case in point... I will be unable to watch the season premiere of the Office and I fully intend to buy it off iTunes after it comes out. I'm sure I could find it some other way, but then I'll hear about it from the hubby.

[raggedjimmi]

Originally Posted by siurpeeman

dvds of tv shows don't come out until the season is over. tv shows on the itunes store are available for purchase the next day. to many, it is a big deal.

Dunno if it's a UK thing, but it's legal for you to download TV torrents. so long as a DVD isn't out.
Makes me wonder why I should spend that £1.80-odd on iTunes.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

Problem is DVD doesn't come out for months, where as the download on iTunes is available the day after the airing. But the time the DVD comes out, you have either lost interest, heard about it from everyone do does watch the show, or gotten it from a location that doesn't beneifit Apple or NBC.

[milo]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

Yeah...six months after the episode aired. And buying the dvd is way useful if you just need ONE episode you missed.


NBC does big business with these shows on iTunes. Their thursday night lineup has had terrible ratings, but they've kept the office on for four years now and have even expanded it to more episodes. There's no way these shows would still be on if they weren't making money via itunes.

Both sides are just grandstanding, they'll end up with a deal at the last minute. There's just no way NBC would walk away from such a solid source of income, and with no other service ready to take the place of iTunes.

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

BUT not the day after the show aired. The only way to get the show onto your iPod starting in Jan will be to DIY or bit torrent.

[wolfpackfan]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

This is a big deal to me. I like to watch shows when they are telecast not 6 months later. iTunes is how I stay up to date with The Office and Heroes. I hate the thought of going back to VCR recording. What a bummer.

[bommai]

Originally Posted by wolfpackfan

This is a big deal to me. I like to watch shows when they are telecast not 6 months later. iTunes is how I stay up to date with The Office and Heroes. I hate the thought of going back to VCR recording. What a bummer.

Why do you have to buy each show - just get an eyeTV Hybrid and get everything for free in HD.

[spazzcat]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

Not the next day after the show airs

[storage]

Originally Posted by Buschmaster

Either I can buy a season of Scrubs and the Office when it starts again or I can find it in some other manner that will not benefit NBC at all.

Your call, NBC.

Just wondering, are certain people monitoring certain activity on certain sites providing certain content?

Has anybody been convicted for conducting said activity?

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

Big deal.

You could always just buy the dvd of a particular show, and rip it to your Pod.

It can be somewhat of a big deal.

If you miss an episode of most big shows on NBC (like "Heroes"), iTunes has it available to download the next day for $1.99

That's way more convenient than having to wait 3 months after the seasons ends to pay $30.00 to buy the entire season on DVD just because you missed on episode. At least for me it is, especially in a series where missing an episode can cause the next episode to not make sense.

Maybe I'm being naive about Apple's motives for not wanting to let the studios charge more for certain programming, but I appreciated it. I wouldn't be surprised if NBC didn't want to charge $4.99 per episode of Heroes because it's so popular.

Update: I took so long posting this (sidetracked at work) that several others made the same point. Sorry about being redundant.

[fastbite]

NBC can go to hell. They are a bunch of thieving idiots.

[BKKbill]

Originally Posted by fastbite

NBC can go to hell. They are a bunch of thieving idiots.

Do we really have to keep watching this crap and I'm still on the first page. It really is adnauseam.

[Zadillo]

Originally Posted by aristobrat

It can be somewhat of a big deal.

If you miss an episode of most big shows on NBC (like "Heroes"), iTunes has it available to download the next day for $1.99

That's way more convenient than having to wait 3 months after the seasons ends to pay $30.00 to buy the entire season on DVD just because you missed on episode. At least for me it is, especially in a series where missing an episode can cause the next episode to not make sense.

Maybe I'm being naive about Apple's motives for not wanting to let the studios charge more for certain programming, but I appreciated it. I wouldn't be surprised if NBC didn't want to charge $4.99 per episode of Heroes because it's so popular.

I don't think it's being naive about Apple's motives. One thing to keep in mind with Apple is that they do not see the iTunes store in and of itself as a profit center. They want to make enough money for it to be worth it, but more specifically they want to have a good source of content for iPod/etc. buyers (now iPhone, AppleTV, Mac, etc.). Their goal is to sell more iPods, iPhones, Macs, AppleTV's, etc. etc.

But Apple knows that there are limits to what people will spend - as it is, there are people who think the prices being charged right now ($1 a track, $2 an episode, $10 a movie, etc.) are too much - they know that raising that price even more is not going to help anyone (not Apple, not the users, not the content companies).

[glennyboiwpg]

Wasn't NBC the jerks who pulled the black donnellys from the air even though it was like one of the best shows on that season?

If it was, this is the second time that they are making me say that I never want to deal with them.


if its not... then please ignore this post.

[AT71]

Honestly, I don't understand why these studios are so greedy. And why Apple is such a stubborn ass.

Geez! Am I going to lose my favorite shows like Heros, BSG and Eureka?

What happen if the other studios also follow NBC/Universal?

Then there's nothing to buy in iTunes Store. So, there's no need for me to get a 6G iPod.

Maybe we should juz BT and use Zune or Archos.

[tribulation]

[quote=Zadillo;4114876]They want to make enough money for it to be worth it, but more specifically they want to have a good source of content for iPod/etc. buyers (now iPhone, AppleTV, Mac, etc.). Their goal is to sell more iPods, iPhones, Macs, AppleTV's, etc. etc.

Did the iTV end up selling more than 2 units this quarter?
Time to dump that heap of resources at Apple. What a bad joke that whole thing was from the beginning. OK Steve, you got us! A couple desperate Mac fans bought into your gimmick - you won your bet with Phil, it's safe to tell the world now that the iTV was only a joke to throw off the competition. Really, the sooner the better would be good so you can finally focus on your core customers with your real products.

I know Steve, you didn't plan on anyone actually buying one. But I promise, you'll only embarrass about 17 people that bought it. Don't worry, they'll just laugh it off. I mean, it wasn't a total waste of hundreds of dollars - obviously they were in on the joke too. I think you might have actually convinced a couple people that it did something, boy oh boy I wish I'd had seen their faces the first time they plugged it in. Wow, that must have been a real tickler. So anyways, it's been fun but really I think it's time to get back to your real work now. Thanks for the laughs!

[X38]

Originally Posted by Zadillo

[...]
But Apple knows that there are limits to what people will spend - as it is, there are people who think the prices being charged right now ($1 a track, $2 an episode, $10 a movie, etc.) are too much - they know that raising that price even more is not going to help anyone (not Apple, not the users, not the content companies).

Count me in that group. I think everything on iTunes is priced at least twice what it is worth and I hold my nose everytime I buy. Even so, I don't buy ANY music, TV shows, movies, etc. anywhere else now becasue iTunes is still cheaper than the alternatives.
If they cut the prices on iTunes in half, I would definitely purchase far more that double what I purchase now and the amount everyone profits from me would greatly increase.

[NightStorm]

If BSG, Heroes, The Office, and My Name Is Earl is not available as a season pass for the upcoming season, I just saved myself a lot of money! Thanks NBC!

I really want to pay you for these shows, but I'm not going to deal with 20 different online services to do so.

[mambodancer]

Originally Posted by NightStorm

If BSG, Heroes, The Office, and My Name Is Earl is not available as a season pass for the upcoming season, I just saved myself a lot of money! Thanks NBC!

I really want to pay you for these shows, but I'm not going to deal with 20 different online services to do so.

My thoughts exactly. I use the iTunes downloads as a convenience. The fact that the networks are getting $2 for a show I can record for free (and do now that I have a DVR) you would think would be enough to keep them really happy. What I like about the shows I purchase from iTunes (versus DVR) is that the commericials are edited out and there are none of the ridiculous crawls across the bottom of the screen. I have never, regardless of how much I like the show, bought DVD's of it, and I never will. If I want to see it again, I check it out from our public library for free.

It is amazing how stupid and short sighted the music and movie industries are. If they really want to negotiate with Apple they should be moving to REDUCING the price of their content or making it free altogether (Vintage episodes of Gilligans Island for $2? Come on.) I suspect, based on what I see on some of the sites that offer episodes of shows for online viewing, that they want to include advertising and commercials in their shows.

The future goes forward, not backward NBC. Hire someone that has a clue.

[Detlev]

Oh, it is about $$ folks, just not the way you are thinking. It is called advertising revenues. NBC, ABC, USA are putting more and more shows online, free, but with advertisements. iTunes does not produce advertising revenues for the broadcast companies. It is simple math:

A (the show) - B (Apple's cut) = $
A (the show) + D (advertisement revenue) = $$

If you were in business where would you invest your resources? It doesn't matter if you can download them all in one place. You will be watching online (with some limitations), switching sites just like flipping channels from the sofa.

The report in the paper this morning says TV shows are a small percentage of iTunes downloads anyway. I have to admit I downloaded some but have backed off since the favorite shows are available online and in better quality. I only have a few movies because I don't get great pricing, bonus features or subtitles. In short, I think Steve was right originally. I don't think the market is there. It was a loud minority who demanded videos be included.