Filed under: Apple Corporate, iTS
Say bye bye to Heroes: NBC to end iTunes show sales
Following on the heels of the Universal Music/iTunes rift, NBC/Universal has declined to renew its iTunes contract according to the NY Times. The current deal is due to expire this December. 1500+ hours of NBC Universal content, including The Office and Heroes, will remain on iTunes until that time. So what happens after December? Between now and then, the two parties may return to the negotiating table--or they may not. Seems to me that iTunes sales have got to be putting some money in NBC/Universal's pocket. iTunes almost singlehandedly turned The Office into a hit, allowing people to catch up and join in with its episode backlog. To quote our own Scott McNulty, this continues the trend of content providers trying to "show their might and put Apple in its place."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Aron Trimble said 10:03AM on 8-31-2007
Here's to Apple sticking it to the man and trying to keep the consumer's best interest at heart rather than trying to make an extra buck just because it can!
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Johnny Thrash said 10:12AM on 8-31-2007
There is nothing on NBC worth watching except Law & Order SVU and CI. All the other good shows are on Sci-Fi, USA and FX.
I won't miss NBC and that should just give the CSI franchises yet another boost in sales and rating.
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chadi said 10:20AM on 8-31-2007
Trash,
Sc-Fi is OWNED by NBC. Bye-bye Battlestar Galactica...
*This is a common negotiation tactic also. - Not chiseled in stone quite yet, if one would write more accurate news articles ;-)
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eric f. said 10:21AM on 8-31-2007
unless they take it upon themselves to handle the infrastructure for the content distribution and DRM on their own site, I can't see how they can expect to make more from selling these shows. Charge more than $1.99 for a single episode? I think that the media companies are out of touch with the reality of what their content is worth.
With the existing public outcry regarding current Itunes DRM restrictions, I can't believe that NBC wants MORE DRM protection? They are living in another reality.
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Quix said 10:25AM on 8-31-2007
I smell Ballmer...
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InSaNeBoY said 10:33AM on 8-31-2007
Nice... We've just dumped cable to switch to all iTunes/AppleTV for what few shows we watch as it's cheeper and the image quality is *better* from iTunes. One of the shows we watch is on NBC and NBC does not come in over the air either.
Good job NBC! I was more than happy to pay, guess I'll have to resort to bit torrent or not watch at all...
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James Donevan said 10:40AM on 8-31-2007
To be clear (as per the original NYT report), NBC was legally obliged to advise Apple 90 days prior to the end of the current contract if they were not renewing to Apple's terms. That contract ends in December. They may well come to new terms in the interim but this advice was legally necessary so Apple could not bind them over to a new contract.
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Vishal said 10:41AM on 8-31-2007
screw NBC and iTunes, get an OTA HDTV antenna and an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid - and watch Heroes in HD!
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William McDaniel said 10:41AM on 8-31-2007
Yawn, I can get all these for free at my local library.
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BobbyW said 10:41AM on 8-31-2007
I can't believe how many stories have been written about this that suggest NBC is pulling their content immediately. Like they just read the NYT piece and decided NBC is done with iTunes.
Nobody knows what's going to happen. We'll have to wait and see.
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Iulius said 10:42AM on 8-31-2007
Ugh. Anyone that thinks the L&O series are worth watching disqualifies themselves to talk about good and bad TV shows. They are fine for the occasional viewing, but how can a TV show play the same episode over and over and still be considered even slightly fresh?
I digress. Anyway -- I don't know if I would look at this as "content providers" so much as "Universal." They are really trying to show Apple who is boss. By and large, I think they will lose, since I believe 99c is the sweet spot for singles, but that doesn't mean Apple will win. Apple *needs* content, Universal can distribute on any platform.
That said, I think Apple should lighten up, let each studio set prices -- perhaps monthly -- for their singles and shows, and let the consumer show Universal that we aren't going to pay $3 for the latest hit. Apple playing hardball for the consumer is nice, but I think it hurts them (and us iPod-carrying members of the public) long run.
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Tucker said 10:47AM on 8-31-2007
...or option three, get HD and ditch paying episode-by-episode for shitty quality downloaded content
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B deR West said 10:51AM on 8-31-2007
"There is nothing on NBC worth watching except Law & Order SVU and CI. All the other good shows are on Sci-Fi, USA and FX."
"Sc-Fi is OWNED by NBC. Bye-bye Battlestar Galactica..."
So is USA.
So then will they not offer season passes for NBC shows premiering this fall? Or will they cost less? If they only charge $20 for a Heroes season pass instead of $40 (which is close to what it was near the end of last season), and NBC renews the contract at the last minute, will those with season passes make out like bandits?
This really sucks because, of all the television networks, NBC embraced iTunes the most -- even more than Apple's own ABC. ABC did not put all its shows on iTunes. NBC did. Everything -- and most backlogged seasons as well.
Plus, NBC has good, proven shows, and a few unproven looks-good shows as well (30 Rock, The Office, Heroes, Chuck, Life, etc.). None of which will be able to be time-shifted without TiVo or a DVR. I was really looking forward to owning digital-only copies of a complete series (e.g., Heroes).
Then again, its not HD content, so it really isn't that big of a deal.
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B deR West said 10:54AM on 8-31-2007
Sorry to double post, but I also just realized, while it's broadcast on Fox, House, MD is technically owned by NBC Universal. Goodbye House on iTunes.
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nate said 10:55AM on 8-31-2007
It seems a little revisionist to say that iTunes is responsible for The Office's success -- as I remember The Office had already taken off and was one of the big offerings when TV shows were just gradually getting added. I think the NYT article is right in that the dynamics are very different for the TV networks vs. the record companies, in that Apple needs the TV networks' content and has less leverage in that the whole distribution model is still pretty fluid and up in the air.
That said, I'd bet good money that this walking away from the table on NBC's part is just part of the negotiations, and that come December we'll hear about an 11th hour deal keeping their TV shows selling through iTunes. It's gotta be basically free money for them.
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Tom Boucher said 10:58AM on 8-31-2007
I guess I'll have to add NBC to the list of DO NOT WATCH like I did FOX for canceling firefly. I don't care if that means Heroes won't be watched, I'll stay away from it.
If it wasn't for iTMS I would have lost over 26 shows when my DVR failed while I had been traveling. I purchased every show I lost on iTMS and prefer that method of viewing now more than regular TV.
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Johnny Thrash said 10:58AM on 8-31-2007
@3 The name is Thrash. Ok? Thanks.
@11 Law & Order SVU certainly beats the hell outta The Office.
But in the end, I just want Eureka and Doctor Who (which isn't even on iTunes).
Besides that, who doesn't own a DVR to record what they want to watch? When you miss an episode it's nice to pop into iTunes and grab it, but cest la vie.
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Kevin Crossman said 11:16AM on 8-31-2007
I'm a fan of The Office and it definitely got traction after shows were available on iTunes (plus, I've bought a bunch of episodes myself... It would suck if those were unavailable).
Steve Jobs is always pushing Heroes and The Office in his keynotes. And now Universal is walking away? What a bunch of ungrateful bastards!
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Chris Murphy said 11:21AM on 8-31-2007
I hate to say it, but the writing seems to be on the wall.
NBC (along with Fox) are starting up their new online channel Hulu (terrible name) and probably want everyone watching their shows on that site, which means that iTunes will be abandoned.
It's probably a stupid move by NBC and Fox, since they have a crappy track record of understanding their audience and the internet.
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Tucker said 11:21AM on 8-31-2007
Tom - unless you've got a nielsen box in your house, sadly nobody but you is going to suffer from not watching those networks. Sure, it's "the principle" of the thing, but it matters about as much as... well, actually, it doesn't matter at all.
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