Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Friday, August 31, 2007 at 12:47 AM PT

 

No More NBC Shows on iTunes?

NBC Universal is saying it won’t renew an agreement to sell its television shows on Apple’s iTunes, according to the New York Times.

NBC is iTunes’ No. 1 supplier of digital video to Apple’s online store, with 40 percent of total downloads. The situation has a sad irony to it, in that my favorite NBC show, The Office, was said to be saved from being canceled last year due to its unexpected popularity on iTunes. I’d been planning to download it from iTunes like I had the last two seasons, but I guess I’ll have to make other plans.

Luckily, there are increasing numbers of legal outlets to find full episodes of NBC shows online — including the yet-to-launch project NBC is involved with, now called Hulu. Die-hard fans won’t have to look too hard to find another way. But it’s silly that the content isn’t available where people like to enjoy it.

NBC is reportedly demanding more flexibility in bundling its programming together, and talks with Apple are said to be continuing, so it’s possible the iTunes situation could turn around. The original deal doesn’t expire until December, so at least the 1,500 hours of current offerings (and possibly the new fall episodes?) will be available till then.

NBC’s move follows a similar one in July by Universal Music Group to drop its long-term arrangement to sell music on Apple’s terms.

 

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Topic: Networks
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Comments & Trackbacks

  1. Liz - Have fun watching on http://www.hulu.com.

    Frank Sinton on August 31st, 2007 at 1:25 am - Permalink

  2. This was coming with HULU when other video sites that signed with NBCU never gained traction and left iTunes with almost exclusive control over the online Video market , something the studios and networks want to avoid after seeing the what has happened to the record industry over fixed pricing when what they really want is variable pricing .

    Matt_ on August 31st, 2007 at 4:40 am - Permalink

  3. You would voluntarily subject yourself to the evil DRM-hell that iTunes is? I say we’re better off without it.

    Torgrim on August 31st, 2007 at 5:47 am - Permalink

  4. I know, pretty stupid of me, huh? I would never do the same thing for music. But TV shows I only want to watch once.

    Liz Gannes on August 31st, 2007 at 8:17 am - Permalink

  5. I can’t imagine that NBC would ever pull their programming from iTunes. It’d be such a stupid move. This has to be just a bargaining ploy. Apple is letting them to do this so that NBC can fill big and strong. In a month, there will probably be an announcement about how they’ve come to an agreement for a long term deal.

    Justin Thorp on August 31st, 2007 at 8:35 am - Permalink

  6. [...] August 31, 2007 at 10:45 AM PT | No comments There is a game of corporate chicken going on. Hours after NBC decided that it was going to pull its shows from the iTunes store at the end of this year, Apple (AAPL) [...]

    Apple Boots NBC Off iTunes « GigaOM on August 31st, 2007 at 10:45 am - Permalink

  7. “NBC is reportedly demanding more flexibility in bundling its programming together”

    When I first read this, I thought NBC might be thinking about dropping DRM. It turns out that when NBC doesn’t think it is making enough money they can demand more flexibility but when consumers demand it, they are pirates.

    Pat on August 31st, 2007 at 11:05 am - Permalink

  8. [...] Boots NBC Off iTunes There is a game of corporate chicken going on. Hours after NBC decided that it was going to pull its shows from the iTunes store at the end of this year, Apple (AAPL) [...]

    Apple Boots NBC Off iTunes « NewTeeVee on August 31st, 2007 at 11:06 am - Permalink

  9. [...] Thread: Where Will You Watch NBC? Apple and NBC are making competing immature proclamations — “no, I broke up with you!” — to let the world know that the [...]

    Open Thread: Where Will You Watch NBC? « NewTeeVee on August 31st, 2007 at 3:18 pm - Permalink

  10. [...] the hate for iTunes is spreading further. Following Universal, NBC announced that it will no longer utilize Apple iTunes to deliver its content. NBC’s portfolio includes [...]

    Growing iHate for iTunes on September 2nd, 2007 at 10:40 am - Permalink

  11. I am sure more content producers will go down this route. Apple does have a monopolistic position in the online media commerce, which is not conducive to these media entities.

    Also this will allow alternative business models and may make content cheaper for us consumers. Universal did the same with Google and gBox.

    Read more of my thoughts here:
    http://abhishek.tiwari.com/2007/09/02/growing-ihate-for-itunes/

    shekyboy on September 2nd, 2007 at 10:58 am - Permalink

  12. [...] A spat between the network and Apple (AAPL) over renegotiating the pricing of their iTunes contract became very public at the end of August. NBC then made an ally out of Amazon, publicizing its [...]

    NBC Confirms Pulling YouTube Content for Hulu « NewTeeVee on October 22nd, 2007 at 8:23 pm - Permalink

  13. [...] waiting in the wings. And Apple is losing momentum in television distribution, where it stubbornly gave up a key deal with NBC (GE) that gave it access to push TV shows popular with geeky watchers like Heroes and The [...]

    Five Fixes for Apple’s iTunes Video Woes « NewTeeVee on October 24th, 2007 at 11:26 am - Permalink

  14. [...] vs YouTube & Google: Smart or Not. Also: NBC confirms pulling YouTube content for Hulu and No more NBC shows on iTunes Mad Money & Battle For The 10th Spot NewCo now has new CEO Is NewCo really worth a billion [...]

    Hulu, NBC-News Corp Online Service Launches « GigaOM on October 28th, 2007 at 9:39 pm - Permalink

  15. [...] a very public split last year, NBC yanked its shows from iTunes over the insistence of Apple pricing shows at a firm [...]

    Take That, Apple! Zune Gets NBC Shows « NewTeeVee on May 6th, 2008 at 8:33 am - Permalink

  16. [...] a very public split last year, NBC yanked its shows from iTunes over the insistence of Apple pricing shows at a firm [...]

    Take That, Apple! Zune Gets NBC Shows « YaGooSoft on May 7th, 2008 at 6:36 am - Permalink

  17. [...] absorb the higher cost it would pay to HBO is unknown. But flexible pricing is what drove NBC shows off iTunes last [...]

    Apple Nabbing HBO Shows? « NewTeeVee on May 12th, 2008 at 8:12 am - Permalink

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