digitalmusic

NBC Bites Apple

Filed in archive Apple , Business , Companies , Industry on September 4, 2007

NBC Bites Apple
Hollywood has longed resented Apple's distribution power. iTunes is so dominant that Apple has been able to set pricing and terms.

The entertainment industry is fighting back by supporting other online services. First Universal Music Group changed its deal with iTunes from a long-term contract to month-to-month. Now stablemate NBC Universal has taken the next step. It's pulling the plug on supplying its TV programming. In response Apple immediately removed the shows. NBC is also working with News Corp. on a co-owned video service called hulu.

NBC Universal is the largest video supplier to Apple with over 30 percent of its video sales from series like "Battlestar Galactica," "The Office" and "Heroes." Apple charges $2 per TV episode and has said that NBC wanted to double its price, which would increase the retail price to $5. Apple refused the increase.

The prevailing media response, and mine, is that NBC's move is foolish and only reinforces the entertainment industry's anti-consumer image. Apple pricing is reasonable and has made a dent, albeit small, in unauthorized downloading and sharing. Pulling content and increasing prices only incents people to return to P2P.


Permalink: NBC Bites Apple

Tags: nbc  apple  licensing  2007  music  september+2007  bites+apple  digital+music 

Vote for NBC Bites Apple:

  • Currently 7.00/10
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
Rating: 7.00 out of 1 vote(s) cast.
 
Share It
RSSrss
Google google
Yahoo! yahoo
Addthis Subscribe using any feed reader!
Bloglines Bloglines
TwitterFollow us on Twitter!
Most Popular   Analysis   Apple   Artists   Best of   Blog   Business   Commentary   Community   Companies   Consumer Rights   Did you know   DRM   Education   Events   Finance   Fun   Games   Government   Industry   Information about