No More NBC Programs on iTunes

Techtree News Staff, Sep 03, 2007 1346 hrs IST

Apple claims NBC demanded more than double its previous wholesale price for its programs. Which meant consumers would have to dish out $4.99 per episode...

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NBC Universal programs will no longer be available for download on Apple Computer's iTunes after it reportedly ended the deal with Apple over a dispute regarding the pricing of its television shows.

Apple claims NBC demanded more than double its previous wholesale price for its programs.

Which meant consumers would have to dish out $4.99 per episode vis-a-vis the current rate of $1.99.

Incidentally, NBC is the biggest provider of video downloads to iTunes, accounting for nearly 40 percent of sales. And this includes 30 percent of the television shows which Apple sells through iTunes.

Eddy Cue, vice president, iTunes, said they are disappointed to see NBC leave iTunes just because they would not agree to NBC's dramatic price increase. Cue expressed hope that they would change their mind and offer their TV shows to the tens of millions of iTunes customers.

Meanwhile, observers say NBC's decision is the latest effort by a media firm to seek more control from Apple over pricing of its output.

USER COMMENTS

I don't know english well, but I do know a little bit of french; vis-a-vis means "face to face" like this: "Lets we both sit down and talk vis-a-vis to settle our problems". Using it in the way it is used is simply ignorance.

by Handel, Europe, on Sep 04, 2007 06:44 AM, Report abuse Reply

I'd go mano a mano with you that vis-a-vis should, more appropriately, be "versus"!

by pmiller, Visalia, on Sep 04, 2007 04:22 AM, Report abuse Reply

The problem is not about money, is about power. Orlando pointed right that iTunes is the only successful system in media delivery. With the popular iPhone, strictly tied to the iTunes system, soon Apple will be too powerful and will be able to impose its policies to the media companies (btw I found them not perfect but far more attractive), leaving them with little space to negotiate. You should know, Apple makes little money with iTunes, but controls a market and no one seems, by now, capable of competing with them.

by miguel V., g?ttingen, on Sep 04, 2007 02:59 AM, Report abuse Reply

"vis-a-vis?" Did you mean "versus?"

by Brian, Boston, on Sep 04, 2007 12:26 AM, Report abuse Reply

Did you even bother to look up what 'vis-a-vis' means before you left your comment?

by James, Denver, on Sep 04, 2007 02:43 AM, Report abuse

Funny no one noticed that ALL NBC crap is already gone from iTunes as of like Friday.

by Eye H NBC, West Side, on Sep 04, 2007 12:49 AM, Report abuse Reply

It's better for NBC to have one customer per show, and sell the show for $1 billion...

by dave, seattle, on Sep 03, 2007 10:36 PM, Report abuse Reply

This is an incredibly badly written piece describing what was going on here. Scantily worded summary which doesn't really explain it all and appear to blame Apple for the problems. The truth is that Universal as a company (NBC's full company name is NBC/Universal) is trying to wrest their content back from the ONLY successful media delivery system on the internet. They actually feel that Apple are ripping off their content so they would like the price rise to compensate them for their losses. Which is dumb dumb dumb. They want to bundle their content so that if you want x you have to buy y - a bargain - except if you DONT want y and wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole you still end up getting y. Apple are standing up for their customers here and the greedy NBC / Universal are trying to break the Apple content delivery system. Coincidentally, NBC happens to be launching their own content delivery system in October - what they were trying to do was get iTunes to publicize their fall shows and get people interested in them and then switch delivery systems to their own. So at least try and research the subject before writing a 150 summary that is covered by other news sources in greater detail and closer to the facts of the event.

by ratty, Orlando, on Sep 03, 2007 07:14 PM, Report abuse Reply

NBC is all about the money not about the people. NBC I will never watch another series from NBC.

by Fernando, Brooklyn, on Sep 03, 2007 06:56 PM, Report abuse Reply

Our are in a communication revolution and steve Jobs is right. Why are we rationing ourselves? Isn't it better for NBC to have 1000 customers at $1.99 than 300 customers at $4.99?

by Ralph Proodian, New York City, on Sep 03, 2007 06:47 PM, Report abuse Reply