Murdoch not quite ready to jump on the iTunes bandwagon

Have you ever watched The Office? Me neither -- not until it showed up on iTunes, I mean. I tried watching it once on TV, but the Siren-like seductiveness of my beautifully-curved TiVo remote took hold of my consciousness, prompting me to change the channel to something a little more...I don't know, entertaining. I don't even remember the episode I was watching. All I can recall thinking was the typical "I don't get it" -- I joined the show five minutes in, and three minutes later there was a commercial break, leaving me grasping for anything that may hint at the purpose of this slow-starting, 100%-dialogue-dependent comedy.

I never bothered watching again...that is, until my brother downloaded an episode from iTunes, nearly relapsed to his old habit of bed-wetting because of laughter (joke!), and forced me to sit down and share with the him the joy of a formerly-British sitcom starring the guy who romanticized the notion of a 40-year-old man living alone with a video game chair and wall-to-wall action figures. The flexibility of watching this show When I Wanted, Where I Wanted developed in me a newfound appreciation for its Genius -- something I can honestly say would never have happened if it was limited to the confines of TV schedule. And, as we've seen, I'm not the only one learning about this comedy-fest via iTunes -- it's gotten so popular because of online downloads, NBC bumped the once-faltering show to a primetime Thursday slot.

Which makes you think things are Going Well -- until, of course, a media exec slaps you in face, chastising you for foolishly believing that content companies are starting to "get it." This time, it's News Corp's holy founder, Rupert Murdoch, who says iTunes and its video distribution deals are "very small-time at the moment," citing the iPod's small display as a reason people may not want to shell out $2 an episode for something they could see for free on TV.

You'd think he'd look at successes like The Office and put the whole concept into perspective: FOX has little to lose by putting its shows on iTunes, and a heckuva lot to gain: revenue, ratings, interest, etc. A Fox/iTunes distribution deal could be huge for both News Corp and Apple -- and the only thing holding it back is Murdoch's RIAA-styled fear of the future (that, or he's got his own scheme in the works, which I certainly wouldn't put past him).

Whatever. I just want my Family Guy.

[via CNet]

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11180767/site/newsweek

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Have you ever watched The Office? Me neither -- not until it showed up on iTunes, I mean. I tried watching it once on TV, but the...

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Buthidae

I'd kill someone's first born child for Family Guy, Futurama, Mission Hill, Harvey Birdman, and Red Dwarf on my iPod.

At least you get something, on the AUiTMS we get diddly squat!

February 07 2006 at 10:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

heidi

If I were a big executive I would....
(a) not be naive enough to think people only watch video on their ipods.
(b) realize that 1.99 is still not low enough to move people away from torrents
(c) The OC + itunes = downloading records. Marketing 101 reminds us to look at target audience - is it really 35 yo women? I didnt think so.

February 07 2006 at 10:23 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Darleen

Gosh Mr. Clicky, maybe you shouldn't come over here till you've had your coffee.

Rupert Murdoch is the spawn of satan. He should go back to Oz and stay there.

And I refuse to buy any ... ANY ... tv content until such time as I can archive it to a dvd so I can watch it on my BIG SCREEN tv. Watching it on my 15" crt (cause I don't have a video iPod) just won't cut it.

February 07 2006 at 8:43 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Porchland

What Rupert Murdoch said:

"We're not knocked out by iPod so far. We've talked to them, to Google and others. But how many people really want to get video on a tiny screen when they already have TiVo or a similar service from their cable company or DirecTV? How many will want to pay $1.99 on Monday morning if they missed "Desperate Housewives" the night before? What's been announced so far with iPod and Disney and NBC is very small-time at the moment."

It would sound like Fox is holding out for Apple to come out with a larger display device, but "We're not knocked out by iPod" comes off sort of derogatory.

I still say the remaining players -- WB, Fox, CBS and Sony -- need Apple more than Apple needs them. When Apple comes out with a portable player with a 4- or 5-inch display, has the entire Pixar catalog at $3.49 or $3.99 a pop, a growing catalog of Universal, Paramount and Disney films, mosts of the better known shows on NBC, ABC, Showtime, etc., the guys sitting on the sideline are going to be in a very BAD bargaining position with Apple. And if Apple comes out with an HD set-top box, a subscription plan for all that TV content and people start shutting off their cable, Fox and the other guys are going to look like dinosaurs.

If any of the remaining four start to come over, the ones that are left will get more and more marginalized. Game on!

February 07 2006 at 8:43 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Mr.Clicky

I've got to stop reading blogs and/or TUAW. This would have to be the most rambling innane inconsequential nonsense I've ever forced my way thorugh. What the fu'#! are you talking about?!? A TV show? Short attention spans?? Rupert Murdoch's two dollar coin??? Christus, why am I even bothering to type this...

February 07 2006 at 8:06 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

matt

Don't forget Arrested Development. I bet it'd do well on iTunes, and might in turn save the show.

Family guy needed that help at one time, and now look how well it's doing.

February 07 2006 at 7:36 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply