NBC shows leave iTunes but join Amazon's Unbox

Here's a quick recap of the NBC/Apple tussle, for those who are tuning in late:

1. NBC says Apple is mean and won't renew their contract ('These shows are my toys and I'm going home!').
2. Apple says NBC is a stupidhead, and NBC's shiny new shows won't be available in iTunes ('How are those toys now? Taste a little better with the salt from your tears, NBC?').
3. NBC and Amazon become BFF's. NBC no longer makes eye contact with Apple when they meet in the hallway between classes.

That's right, NBC's upcoming season of shows may not be available via iTunes (pending contract negotiations), but they will be available at Amazon Unbox. What's Amazon Unbox you ask? It is ok not to recognize it, since few people actually use it (and even fewer Mac users, since it is PC only). Unbox is Amazon's video download service that allows you to rent or buy movies and tv shows which you can then play back on authorized devices (rentals can play back on one device, while the things you buy can be played on two computers and two portable devices but no iPods since they aren't supported).

NBC went with Amazon, reports the New York Times, because Amazon agreed to be flexible with pricing. This translates to higher prices for more recent shows, with the back catalog being cheaper (which is what I assume NBC wanted Apple to do all along). Amazon Unbox will also offer up free previews of NBC's upcoming shows, as well as a discount for people buying whole seasons worth of shows (does any of this sound familiar?).

The coolest part of all this is that you can download these shows to your Tivo, though if you have a Tivo why wouldn't you just set it to record these NBC shows for free, like Nik suggests?
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