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NBC Universal has decided not to renew its contract with Apple, meaning that come December popular NBC shows like Battlestar Galactica and The Office will no longer be available via the iTunes Store. NBC is currently the number one supplier of digital videos to the iTunes Store with more than 40 percent of downloads.
The NBC announcement follows an earlier decision by Universal music to also [shun the iTunes Store][1]. [According to the New York Times][2], NBC is unhappy with the iTunes price structure and wants to offer bundled deal, i.e. buy a movie you want and get a free TV show you don't care about. For some reason NBC believes bundles are what consumers really want.
However, it's also likely that NBC Universal wants to ensure that Apple doesn't gain the same dominance over television and video downloads that it currently enjoys with music.
What NBC seems to fail to understand is that a large part of the iTunes Store success comes from its dead simple pricing structure -- you don't have to buy overpriced bundles full of content you don't care about just to get the content you want.
If you still need those last few episodes of Heroes, better grab them soon. Of course there's still ninety days for NBC Universal and Apple to work out their differences, but with the upcoming release of [Hulu][3], NBC Universal's own stab (in partnership with Fox) at online television it seems unlikely that NBC will change its mind.
Neither NBC nor Apple have commented on the decision. Anybody want to bet torrents for NBC shows are about to see a huge jump in traffic?
[1]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/08/universal-hates.html
[2]: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/technology/31NBC.html?ex=1346212800&en=fef607b6154e6135&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
[3]: http://www.hulu.com/
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