Katie MarsalNBC Universal is miffed over recent announcements by EchoStar and TiVo — two companies that will allow users to download TV and movies to a portable player for free — and says to expect additional announcements with Apple's iTunes in the coming weeks.
"This is clearly not the proper way to behave," NBC Universal TV president Jeff Zucker told Variety. "We have worked in concert with Apple to benefit the consumer; where others are not working with content providers is clearly not in the best interest of the consumer."
NBC's recent digital download deal with Apple reportedly took on additional urgency this year as illegal downloads of TV shows exploded. The conglomerate estimates there are over 430,000 illegal downloads of its "Battlestar Galactica" program each week.
The NBC deal expands Apple's iTunes video offering to 300 episodes of 16 different series, with Zucker saying that number will expand quickly as NBC works to fill the iTunes with additional shows.
"You are going to see a series of announcements in the coming weeks," he said.
On Tuesday, NBC Universal announced that it would begin delivering a slew of programming through Apple's iTunes video service, including NBC’s “Law & Order,†“The Office,†“Surface,†“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,†“Late Night with Conan O'Brien,†the USA Network’s Emmy Award-winning “Monk†and Sci-Fi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica†as well as classic TV shows including “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,†“Dragnet,†“Adam-12†and “Knight Rider.â€
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30 Comments
"We have worked in concert with Apple to benefit the consumer; where others are not working with content providers is clearly not in the best interest of the consumer."
I guess that he figures the "best interest of the consumer" is paying $1.99 per show that has DRM and can't be burned to DVD.
That reminds me of retailers that have signs saying, "for your safety, this area is monitored by surveillance cameras." Riiiight.
I guess that he figures the "best interest of the consumer" is paying $1.99 per show that has DRM and can't be burned to DVD.
That reminds me of retailers that have signs saying, "for your safety, this area is monitored by surveillance cameras." Riiiight.
yeah, i'm not sure i see what nbc is getting all bent out of shape over. i mean, don't the tivo recorded videos also get recorded WITH commercials? sure, you can fast forward through them, but if they're left in there, it's totally legit. you pay the $2, in my humble opinion, to have the commercials STRIPPED OUT, which, by tthe way, i love.
The lack of commercials is very important, to say the least. Many people might rather watch the video while on the subway than have to clear out their schedule and put up with ads.
Also, encoding video is something that many people don't know how to do properly, even if you streamline it for them. And unfortunately legal reasons prevent Apple from simply creating an "import DVD" option in iTunes like there is for CDs. Paying $2 per episode may seem silly for people like us, but it eliminates a lot of the guesswork for the casual user.
"per episode" and "per show" are meaning less. When the initial five shows were being offered it was a clear $2 per full episode. Now we're in a swirl of madness where $2 will get you six whole minutes of Jay Leno. \
Google: Bill Hicks + Leno + satan
Sadly we lack the uniformity of $0.99 USD per track. It was simple, it was clear, it was uniform, it was doomed.
But given all that, I'll stay it again: Hitchcock, baby, Hitchcock!!!
I heard that Apple was going to start allowing the stations to put in commercials tp help better thier profit margins?