Too expensive.
Chriminy. And I was going to say $0.99 was way too expensive. NBC thinks too much of their content.
Chriminy. And I was going to say $0.99 was way too expensive. NBC thinks too much of their content.
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NBC Universal Unlikely to Join Apple's 99-Cent TV Show Rental Program
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Because they're not free. You pay for those shows with the time spent watching commercials, and of course some viewers ultimately pay for the products advertised. Maybe that cost is less to you than $.99 per show, but it is definitely a cost.
Like the RIAA before them, these guys just do not yet realize that their way of doing business must change and adapt like never before. I think they will get it eventually.
Tilpots said:Hmmmm. Free OTA and free on the internet, yet 99 cents is devaluing it?
Anybody care to explain? Anyone? Bueller? Frye? Anyone?
Because they're not free. You pay for those shows with the time spent watching commercials, and of course some viewers ultimately pay for the products advertised. Maybe that cost is less to you than $.99 per show, but it is definitely a cost.
Like the RIAA before them, these guys just do not yet realize that their way of doing business must change and adapt like never before. I think they will get it eventually.
No you can't. He was halfway lying. The 99 cent rentals are in HD. The 1.99 price is for buying SD shows. It costs 2.99 to buy the equivalent shows in HD which is simply not worth it in my opinion. And I'm sure he knew the difference.
Regardless, though even if he didn't his comment doesn't make sense at all. If he's saying pay 1.99 to OWN it is so good, how can renting it for .99 be devaluing his content? Renting something versus buying to own something is usually much less than half the price. For example, you can rent a Blu Ray for $1.50, but to buy that same Blu Ray will cost you at least $10 but more often much more than that. You certainly can't buy it for just double the price of a rental.
So Zucker's claim for rentals only being half of a purchase would be "devaluing" the content is absolutely absurd. It needs to be much more cheaper for renting rather than buying for that to happen.
TV rental is just a small part of what Apple TV has to offer, so I doubt this will have much of an effect.
The TV Networks
It's important to bear in mind what a social revolution the TV networks once unleashed, and what a blowout of cash for 30 or 40 years it was. Ownership of a network affiliate was simply a license to print money. Viewerships of 30, 40, 50 million were common, and they happened in a world with 12 channels.
TV networks are not at all what they were. There's 500 or so channels available. They're just one producer and packager among many others.
So Zucker's bet is to regain the exclusivity they once had by getting acquired by Comcast. Live in a Comcast area, you get NBC and any other channels they spawn. And NBC has bought a lot of cable channels.
They have no idea what to do outside of that world.
It's important to bear in mind what a social revolution the TV networks once unleashed, and what a blowout of cash for 30 or 40 years it was. Ownership of a network affiliate was simply a license to print money. Viewerships of 30, 40, 50 million were common, and they happened in a world with 12 channels.
TV networks are not at all what they were. There's 500 or so channels available. They're just one producer and packager among many others.
So Zucker's bet is to regain the exclusivity they once had by getting acquired by Comcast. Live in a Comcast area, you get NBC and any other channels they spawn. And NBC has bought a lot of cable channels.
They have no idea what to do outside of that world.
"We thought it would devalue our content," Zucker said"
What he really means is:
"We thought it would give too much power in advertisers to realize what a show is worth and ultimately we are afraid we can't rape companies for advertising dollars on shows that really aren't worth it and then turn around and rape consumers for DVD sales."
What he really means is:
"We thought it would give too much power in advertisers to realize what a show is worth and ultimately we are afraid we can't rape companies for advertising dollars on shows that really aren't worth it and then turn around and rape consumers for DVD sales."
Tiresome
I'm not sure about anyone else however I'm seriously sick and tired of the film/tv industry shananigans. How much more money do these greedy f...... want! We work our a.... off to make ends meet yet somehow selling/renting tv shows for 99c devalues their f..... product. Unbelievable. These guys would take the shirt off the back of anyone.
At that price people are more likley to consume quite a bit more but from some reason through some sort of short sightedness or even fear they won't go for it.
How about people in strict rotation stop buying tv shows for a month and the month after stop buying movies and the month after that stop buying any goodies associated with that tv show or film.
Lets see how much they set to lose then. Power to the people man power to the people.
All we need now is some **** to call me a commie!
I'm not sure about anyone else however I'm seriously sick and tired of the film/tv industry shananigans. How much more money do these greedy f...... want! We work our a.... off to make ends meet yet somehow selling/renting tv shows for 99c devalues their f..... product. Unbelievable. These guys would take the shirt off the back of anyone.
At that price people are more likley to consume quite a bit more but from some reason through some sort of short sightedness or even fear they won't go for it.
How about people in strict rotation stop buying tv shows for a month and the month after stop buying movies and the month after that stop buying any goodies associated with that tv show or film.
Lets see how much they set to lose then. Power to the people man power to the people.
All we need now is some **** to call me a commie!
Because by choosing powerful, low, impulse purchase pricepoints, that are all the same, consumer psychology takes over and it becomes successful.
You don't have to think "Hmm, I wnat this song ohh, but it's a $1.29 song...do I want to pay the extra $0.30? Hmm...Maybe I will tomorrow" and then you don't.
When everything costs the same you say "I want to buy that" and you do before thinking about it.
It is 100% about psychology and marketing and taking away one more choice you have to make that gives you one less decision point that engages your logical brain one fewer time that makes you buy more.
-Allen
How many times is this now for NBC saying they'll never put their shows on the iTMS only for them to cave in a few months? These blatant bargaining strategies are kind of annoying.
Do you subscribe to cable/satellite/fiber/whatever? If so, you are definitely not getting them "for free"...
Are you serious? Are you really suggesting that paying 2-3 times the price for something that is essentially throwaway material makes any kind of economic sense?
No, I think what some of us are suggesting is that we can rent a full feature length movie with full production value from red box for $1. They're off by 2/3rds to 1/4 of the price.
Of course, you and I worked in the same building, so you know how this affected so many of my co-workers, right?
We just came out of the biggest Recession since WWII. The economy is in bad shape for everyone, and hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs in every industry. It'd be inaccurate to tie their job loss in to Apple's one month TV rental program.
Remember though, apps and TV shows are by and large entertainment. This "race to the bottom" is much different to the same race to the bottom as seen in other industry. The quality of the entertainment product does not pose a safety hazard, risk the environment, or threaten our communities. Entertainment is a leisure activity and most will accept what they get or go elsewhere and do other things.
Yes, 100%. Apple, like every other distributor, pays as little as possible for content. That's how it works.
.
I get where you are going with this, but until I'm forced to pay, out of pocket, to watch these programs, I will consider them free.
The invention of the DVR has changed the game dramatically. I know Neilsen says people are still watching commercials, but I don't expect anything other than that kind of spin from a company who's livelihood depends on telling the broadcasters what people are watching.
Yeah, they're going to have to. The writing's on the wall and it's saying something to the effect of:
"Look at the Newspaper Industry. Look at the Music Industry. Technology has rendered your business plans worthless. You MUST start over..."
Have you ever wonder that is because they do not want to be controlled by Apple later on. They do not trust Apple because Apple has a very long history of stabbing parteners in the back.
Apple went after record companies when they cut a different deal with Amazon.
I could easily see Apple strong arming them later to keep the rented content out of other stories for other devices. Long term they just do not trust Apple and Apple has earned that distrust.
By refusing to give in now they will not be held by the balls so to speak by Apple.
Now that is 2 major studies say no. I would not be surprised to see CBS follow suit and after that Fox pulling out.
That kills almost every one of your major studios. That mean no USA, Syfy channels shows and I know some others.
For me as soon as CBS says no ever single show I watch is not be on iTunes store.
I'm writing my media studies essay on The Mass Media's Resistance to Technological Change.
I just found at least another 2 paragraphs.
I just found at least another 2 paragraphs.
I fully support this sentiment.
What the tv networks have managed to do with advertising and ripping off advertisers for the last 50+ years is the biggest robbery in the history of the world. The idea that the world's biggest and most successful companies would just dump money into tv marketing without having any way or real idea how well any of it worked or if it was ever worth what was being paid for... absolutely amazing.
This is a real problem for the networks. Once there is an actual REAL value assigned to what these shows are and what they are worth to viewers, advertisers whomever, the jig is up.
The networks have made off with 10s if not 100s of billions of dollars over the history of tv from companies where the value was not actually there. Sure there also might be cases where advertisers got more value than they paid for, but that was the minority by a long shot. What the TV networks accomplished in all this time is amazing, but it is time for them to wake up.
I must note that BBC shows, such as Dr. Who, are also for rent. And boy have I been renting. I like the idea that 1) I can rent in HD for 99 cents (half off if it were for keeps), 2) I can sit on it, 3) I can watch and rewatch within a number of hours, and 4) that gigabyte of space is recovered at the end of that time frame.
Brilliant.
If I need to watch again, I don't need instant gratification; netflix will do. But for brand new shows, renting is the way to go (versus waiting for the US release of DVDs...).
Yeah, I'm pro rent when I don't have to spill $2 on a show that will bit-rot after I watch it.
But for what it is worth, there isn't much I care to watch on NBC anyway...
Brilliant.
If I need to watch again, I don't need instant gratification; netflix will do. But for brand new shows, renting is the way to go (versus waiting for the US release of DVDs...).
Yeah, I'm pro rent when I don't have to spill $2 on a show that will bit-rot after I watch it.
But for what it is worth, there isn't much I care to watch on NBC anyway...
Its not really small. Movie rentals are big. Streaming from your itunes is good. But other things do this too. The big thing is tv rentals from iTunes.
Yes I did laugh at the "99 cents devalues our content"comment.I think the writing and lack of creativity did that already!
Sniping aside though,Why not a compromise?I'd watch 2 or 3 non-skippable
ads in return for a free rental.or maybe one ad for 99 cents.The on-demand aspect is what I'm most interested in.
I've ordered an aTV(my old one just died),but expect to mainly stream rips from my computer.That and Netflix,of course.
You're forgetting just one thing. I'm NOT going to buy it PERIOD...as in no matter what. I've NEVER bought a single TV show on my Apple TV units EVER. I have almost ZERO interest in owning TV shows because I'm not likely to watch them more than once.
So what it REALLY comes down to is the network can get my 99 cents once in a while (for a show I've missed or maybe I cannot get on my cable in HD or whatever like Smallville and Doctor Who which are only available here in SD) or they can get NOTHING at all. It's their choice, really, just as it was with the old Napster Vs. iTunes.
If you don't offer reasonable options, people will just bypass you. Some may regard that as immoral, but what's more immoral? Ripping people off for greed or ripping greedy companies off? Personally, I find it to be a tie. Reasonable people will pay reasonable prices for content. Very very few will pay for overpriced content in the Internet age. It's one of the few equalizers society has for the disease of corporate corruption using its endless monetary reserves to influence and change the laws for the worse. Saying that one can change unfair laws sounds nice but anyone that isn't a moron knows that only money talks these days and the average person can't make a dent compared to a multi-national corporation with $40+ Billion in cash reserves when it comes to bribing/buying/planting politicians. You can't win in court against laws made by corruption and you can't change the laws due to the corruption. So you do the old Rebel Alliance option or you just take it up the wazoo and like it. It's your choice. And yes I'm fully aware many love taking it up the wazoo and telling others how great it is to be holier than thou and better than Moses himself for following "rules" made by powerful others to take advantage of you.
I would say Apple should make it clear to them that 99 cents is better than nothing at all. The days of buying overpriced crap on DVDs and BDs will soon be over. These companies don't want to "sell" anyway. They want to license. Well, the days of paying $60 for a "license" to watch a TV show season over and over on an aluminum substrate disc are coming to a close. You got 24 episodes? Expect $24. You got 12 episodes? Expect $12. You DEMAND $60-100? Expect people to load up a Bit-torrent client. Like it or not, that's reality. Look at the old Napster pre-iTunes poll numbers. 85%+ of the population agrees. That sounds like a super-majority to me. And yet the politicians still don't listen. They'd rather pass things like the DMCA to benefit the upper 2% of society whereas things like libraries actually serve the people (OMG it's Evil Socialism!
)
+1.
Either Apple or these station houses/movie moguls need to think BEYOND the USA only this way the same TV shows offered by USA are available outside the USA. Delay availability by a week, a month at the most but stop cheaping us; especially those of us north of the border from the USA whom are ADDICTED to USA stations. Then offer regional or national local content for all the countries that have iTunes and TV/Movie rentals available.
Then again maybe the old-wold-way-of-thinking and limitations imposed to Apple's dominance (rightfully EARNED by the way) is the reason why
TV is slated as a "hobby". I'll be purchasing my family's first LCD TV next month.
PS3 use & particular TV shows and local news stations is the ONLY reason we'll need/use the TV; movies included & streaming iMovie/iPhoto slideshows. If I can get our city's local TV station to stream via web/iTunes then that is a HUGE HUGE $60-100/mth bill we can sever from our wallets and put towards the BEST & largest & least restricted internet service, bandwidth, and FTP/torrenting available.
sigh