Apple drops NBC shows from iTunes

[Boyd Ostroff]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070831/nbc_itunes.html?.v=12

Apple Inc. escalated a dispute with NBC Universal over the pricing of television shows by announcing Friday it would not sell any of NBC's programs for this fall season on iTunes.

Earlier, NBC had told Apple that it would no longer allow its programs to be sold via iTunes at the end of the year

I can't imagine anyone paying $4.99 to watch a TV show on their computer. And for me, I can't even imagine paying $1.99 to watch a TV show... but that's just me :-)

[Kyle Prohaska]

TV Shows go to DVD so quick now (like Heroes) that its just as cheap to buy the box set or HDDVD....plus its HD, you own it on disc, play it on your TV, etc. etc. Ide never watch TV Shows on itunes. Also, NBC has alot of the full episodes on their site for free during the seasons run...so whats the point of paying?

[Boyd Ostroff]

I guess the attraction was that there are no commercials on the iTunes version. Somebody must be buying them if they account for 40% of their video downloads. Maybe it's people watching them on their iPods?

[Paulo Teixeira]

"NBC contradicts Apple, says shows will remain in iTunes Store through December"
http://arstechnica.com/journals/appl...rough-december

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by Paulo Teixeira

"NBC contradicts Apple, says shows will remain in iTunes Store through December"

That will be a good trick, since Apple runs the store... :-)

[Chris Luker]

Legacy downloads (old seasons, shows etc.) will remain until december, new shows (new seasons) will not be sold since you can buy a season pass... and the season will not be over by december.
NBC makes more on downloads from itunes than with dvd sales (per episode).

[Bill Davis]

I've got a feeling that this will be studied in business school classes for decades as an example of stupid corporate decision making at it's finest.

Old media vs New media. Hardly a contest.

Let the lawsuits begin.