Slashdot Mirror
NBC Universal Drops iTunes
An anonymous reader writes "NBC Universal has cancelled its iTunes contract and will withdraw the television shows it currently offers through the service in December, when the current contract expires. This is a huge blow for the service, as NBC is the controlling interest in Apple customer-friendly intellectual properties like The Office, Battlestar Galactica, My Name is Earl and Heroes. From the article: 'The decision to withdraw the content follows disagreements between the two firms. Apple is thought to have rejected NBC's demands for more restrictive DRM and the introduction of flexible pricing. Apple was informed of NBC Universal's decision late last night. The report states that neither Apple nor NBC Universal would comment on the matter, but said they continue to talk, "free of acrimony".'" Hey NBC: I have chosen not to have cable, but want to pay you for Heroes. Guess what my only alternative will be if you pull it from iTunes?
Hey NBC: I have chosen not to have cable, but want to pay you for Heroes. Guess what my only alternative will be if you pull it from iTunes?
well, they do offer it for free on their own site.
and then there's, you know, the free airwaves.
First off, other way to get your message across to the people who matter:
Call Joe Libonati, NBC Universal Television Group Publicity @
1-818-840-3050
And Amy Zelvin, NBC Universal Digital Media Communications @
1-212-664-7436
Now, let me get this straight:
I am a mobile professional. I don't watch TV at home, but I enjoy
staying up-to-date on my favorite shows by using iTunes in
whatever hotel/airport lounge/etc. I happen to be in between
flights.
I watch shows on my iPod when my MacBook Pro isn't
convenient.
According to NBC, I'm not the kind of customer they want. Reasonably well
off, well connected, and quality-minded. They'd prefer for me to
wait six months and uy a DVD set I'm never home to watch, or
watch the shows, riddled with ads, for "free" on their web site (I
guess I'll have to bring a book for those 4-5x monthly
transcontinental flights, where there is no Internet).
What morons the executives at NBC must be.
I cannot and will not use a Microsoft DRM-based solution -
they've switched strategies several times over the past three
years, while the first track I ever bought from iTunes still works.
I won't resort to piracy either, but face it; I have no interest (and
usually no time) to sit in a hotel room or my house and watch
programming, nor do I want to mash everything up on my tivo -
iTunes was a perfect solution - no commercials, easily
obtainable, watch anytime, anywhere - and NBC just shut it off
because they're greedy. Forget about the customer...