Now I get the NBC-iTunes breakup
Posted
Sep 20 2007, 01:17 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Now I understand why NBC so publicly pulled its television programs from Apple's iTunes store. The network is taking those programs in-house, launching a Windows-only video-on-demand service in October.
This is a rather bizarre move, considering that it was just a few weeks ago that NBC and News Corp. said they would launch Hulu, a Web video site that will feature NBC shows, among others. Hulu is also supposed to begin private testing in October. What will happen to Hulu now?
Then there's the Amazon part. After dropping iTunes, NBC began offering its programs on Amazon's Unbox service. Seems like NBC is dipping toes in lots of different pools and will go with the one that works best (or brings in the most money).
NBC might want to learn a lesson from ABC when it comes to owning the distribution chain for television shows. Mediaweek reported that ABC has dropped its go-it-alone strategy and is talking to lots of potential partners about offering shows on their Web sites.
There was a general outcry of disappointment when the NBC - iTunes breakup was announced (from myself included, having downloaded plenty of episodes of "Lost" to my iBook) but come on. This move makes total sense for NBC. Apple's strict price controls limited the network's earning potential, and now NBC has complete control over how much it can charge for programs and the terms under which they're distributed.
Still, NBC will have lots of issues to work out in its own service. As Amazon and Google found out, launching a video service can be a messy thing indeed.
