Comments on: Breaking News: NBC Has Shot Itself in the Foot

By: NBC a Holdout for 99-Cent iTunes Rentals: Apple «

NBC a Holdout for 99-Cent iTunes Rentals: Apple « — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:32:16 +0000

[...] isn’t Apple’s first rodeo, though. NBC has played a similar tune in the past, when it pulled all of its content from the iTunes store in 2007 with little warning. It was attempting to use its position as a top [...]

By: Apple TV is Dead; Long Live Apple TV | The Iphone Blog

Apple TV is Dead; Long Live Apple TV | The Iphone Blog — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:02:14 +0000

[...] labels: their electronic plans dominated by a powerful distribution partner. NBC Universal even pulled its content from the iTunes store for a time during a public spat with Apple. NBC eventually returned, but the industry has still [...]

By: Apple TV is Dead; Long Live Apple TV « Apple News Daily

Apple TV is Dead; Long Live Apple TV « Apple News Daily — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:00:31 +0000

By: Apple TV is Dead; Long Live Apple TV

Apple TV is Dead; Long Live Apple TV — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:01:17 +0000

By: Steve Mage

Steve Mage — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:26:09 +0000

This Article Was Almost Dead Right In Hindsight!!!

Here is the bottom line: NBC’s SEASON suffered last year. That is at least partly attributed to not being on iTunes. And while profits for Studios from iTunes are not CURRENTLY anything that warrants a second glance, fast forward a few years when 50 million or more Americans have iPhones or iPod touches… This landscape is changing fast, and NBC knows it.

Let’s recap last year, shall we? Jeff Zucker made a complete IDIOT of himself when he threatened (unfortunately for NBC, very publicly) to remove all NBC content from iTunes by the end of the year. Apple, instead of cowering in dismay, did Mr. Zucker one better: They immediately and unceremoniously removed all NBC content post haste (Early Sept. 07).

Here is the word on the street: Apple made the decision to completely ban NBC content from the iTunes store for a period of exactly one year. That is why even though Apple and NBC appeared to “make nice” in January, you haven’t seen NBC content back on iTunes until now (Early Sept. 08).

Apple approached this issue in this way in order to send a message to the other networks that might be contemplating doing the same. “You’re free to leave whenever you want, but chose wisely, because it isn’t so easy to come back once you decide you want back on the gravy train.”

Apple’s financial reports never registered even the slightest blip from a missing NBC over the last 12 months. In fact, their growth has been unprecedented and their profits have been Apple’s largest in history.

NBC made a massive miscalculation. End of story.

By: iTunes 8, Genius, HD Shows, and Welcome Back NBC | The Apple Blog

iTunes 8, Genius, HD Shows, and Welcome Back NBC | The Apple Blog — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:42:18 +0000

[...] August, NBC announced they wouldn’t be renewing their contract with Apple due to disagreements over DRM. It seems [...]

By: “The Office” and “30 Rock” on Your iPhone | The Apple Blog

Thu, 08 May 2008 20:40:08 +0000

[...] Rock” on your iPhone. It is no secret that NBC is not a big fan of Apple and iTunes, having pulled their network shows from the iTunes Music Store last year. All you have to do to watch the episodes is go to [...]

By: minikperi

minikperi — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:48:32 +0000

No NBC shows on iTunes this fall? No Office, Heroes, or Battlestar Galactica?

I bought season passes for all three last fall, and it looks like it’s off to bittorrent this fall.

By: Matt Radel

Matt Radel — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:00:43 +0000

I love John Gruber's response to all of this. Classic.

By: steve

steve — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:07:19 +0000

I think this is a really dumb move by NBC. The fact that they will be charging more for thier shows and selling them on a less popular and unknown video site will make them far less money than if they had stuck by itunes and not been so greedy.

By: Christian

Christian — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:33:02 +0000

Pirating via the well known torrent websites will grow again…
That’s all what happens.
I’m sick of the tv networks and publishers. Not only that i can’t watch heroes legally here in germany (they start broadcasting season 1 in low-def tv this autumn here) in HD or even native language.
I can’t buy it on iTunes. I have to import the DVD (which is technically blocked for RC2).

It is SO STUPID. Same for music. Why can’t i just buy the stuff in any format i like for reasonable prices without DRM!?
I do not want to give it away – i want to own it!

By: Honza

Honza — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 08:36:11 +0000

$1.99 to $4.99 is >2.5x price increase!

Shameful behaviour, but really most of corporate America subscribes to these practices…

For the answer, get an account on demonoid.com ;-)

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 04:14:06 +0000

No NBC shows on iTunes this fall? No Office, Heroes, or Battlestar Galactica?

I bought season passes for all three last fall, and it looks like it’s off to bittorrent this fall.

By: Colin

Colin — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:59:57 +0000

Well, for those of you fast enough you can still catch most shows (of any show) for free on alloftv.net.

They don’t always have ALL of the episodes from EVERY show but they’ve got enough to make it worth a look.

I’m currently getting caught up on Prison Break, but I agree with everything said so far. I watch Heroes, The Office and occasionally 30 Rock off of iTunes and I’m not sure that’d I’d be willing to pay more than $1.99 for any individual episode, especially considering that I intend to buy it on DVD once it comes out. I may as well just wait.

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 19:07:19 +0000

Great…so now that I moved to Europe there is no way for me to watch The Office and Heroes. This is just sad. I downloaded every single episode of every single season and probably have seen every The Office episode around 5 times.

Thanks NBC for making decisions that will only hurt your network, your shows AND your viewers.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:02:19 +0000

I’m in the camp that this isn’t good for anyone. I’m also in the camp of watching TV shows you missed on the network’s website is just doesn’t make a great deal of sense. Typically the encoding is of a low bandwidth variety designed for streaming. Typically fullscreen options are limited. Oh, and for us Mac users, serious problems getting them to work all the time. I’m sure some of this has gotten better and will get better, but there are still sites (TNT) that require a Windows computer.

All that is being said to make a point. Downloading the content is by far the best option. So far there has been only one good place to get this content, Apple. At a $1.99 for content with no commercials and a bitrate and resolution that works well on my iPod, 15″ PowerBook and 42″ DLP 720p TV, I’m happy to pay; even experiment with shows I’ve not yet watched and have no commitment to watching. As the price goes up, my dedication to the program will also have to go up.
From what NBC is now saying, the increase would not have been across the board. It seems they were looking for ways to bundle programing and have “variable” pricing. I still think that means they were looking to make more money not less money. Also variable pricing basically exists today; although to a small extent.
In the end, most people still watch programing on their TVs live or using a DVR; not with iTunes. They use iTunes as a back-up when they miss a show or for a show they get hooked on after episode 1. Heroes for me was that situation. I also watched episodes of Lost & 24 that I missed first time around.
Lately I have starting watching MadMen from AMC only on iTunes as a bit of an experiment. It’s been enjoyable, allowing me to watch the episodes at work during lunch or on the road traveling; my DVR doesn’t give me that ability.
I do think that Apple will be hurt more by this than NBC. Apple needs the content and NBC makes up a huge portion, some 30%, of available programing. in the end though, we all lose!