NBC says goodbye to Apple, hello to Amazon
NBC Universal didn't waste any time replacing Apple.
Episodes of The Office and Heroes will begin appearing at Amazon's Unbox starting next Monday, according to a statement released by the companies.
Amazon customers can download the pilot shows for new series, such as Bionic Woman, and Chuck, free of charge and in advance of their network premiers. Other shows will be available on Amazon Unbox the day after they air. Amazon and NBC Universal are offering a range of packages, including a 30 percent off deal when purchasing a complete season in advance.
NBC Universal and Apple engaged in a public relations battle last week. The spat started when NBC announced it would not renew a long-term contract to offer TV shows for download on iTunes because Apple wasn't offering favorable enough terms.
In response, Apple said it wouldn't sell NBC's shows for the upcoming season.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET.
BitTorrent is really the only game in town now.
anyway, which are annoyingly interrupted every 15 minutes to give
you 5 minutes of "shows" that no one wants to watch.
There's a reason that Nothing But Commercials is the least watched
of the alphabet networks. Unless you're a Billy Mays fan wondering
about the new Oxi-product.
iTunes has been the only real alternative to illegal downloading for a lot of people. The only thing NBC decision is going to do is increase bittorrent traffic.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?
nodeId=3759
Oddly enough they specifically mention that it may not work on
an Apple computer with a required version of Windows installed!
If they are referring to virtual machines (Parallels, VMWare etc.)
why not say so? Obviously there is no reason why it wouldn't in
BootCamp.
The thing these people don't get is people don't want to watch
video only on their computers. They want to put it on their
iPods, iPhones & PSPs. iTunes is successful because it is so easy
to use and it gets you that (at least for the iPhone/iPod). The
next easiest way is via Torrent and that is where people will go,
not to these crappy "online only" services.
Using the scheduler in your PVR software...you can record any network show without resorting to bittorent. Even with the right eazy configuration...the PVR software will kill most of the commercials during or after recording.
Don't have an iPod, but the package as a whole leaves me not at the mercy of Apple or any network.
comes online. And you know its coming. First it was P2P, then it
was Torrents, who knows what could happen now that torrent sites
are being shut down. When are the corporations going to figure out
that they are fighting a losing battle? Leaving iTunes means they
are dead in the water next year.
flexibility, I don't see how on "Earth" NBC thinks moving to
Amazon.com will provide (according to the Amazon.com press
release) "the ultimate convenience" and enjoyment to their
customers??
1) iTunes works on both Windows and Mac; Unbox does not.
2) iTunes is easier, faster and more reliable than Unbox.
3) Apple TV does not require a service plan; TiVo does.
4) Apple TV has built-in wireless; TiVo does not.
5) the list of inadequacies goes on and is too long to complete
here...
Given this decision by NBC, it sadly appears they are not serious
about doing what is best for their customers. The fact that none
of the first several comments on this blog praise/welcome the
announcement, should give NBC and Amazon.com a clue as to
the misguided direction they have taken.
But I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise - satisfying customers
cost money - and NBC obviously would rather take more money
from their customers. Thank you Apple for attempting to stand
up for our best interests.
I don't think $4.99 an episode is worth it for me to not click the 30sec skip button, and get the show a day later. What is NBC thinking?!
win-win for me.
If fact, there are no shows that I would give a carp about missing
on NBC anyway. NBC is irrelevant. They are one of the dinosaurs
that is dead but still twitching.
problems. I'm sure Amazon is just as overbearing as Apple. It's all
about just being an ass.
Do tell how so?
iTunes=cross platform.
iTunes=inexpensive content.
Sounds like another wacky aPpLe hAtERz comment.
Since itunes came along I've purchased over $200 in music and another $50 or so in tv series. I can watch or listen to my stuff on my Mac at home, at work on my PC, and even load the stuff to my blackberry.
So why in the world would you think I would want to switch to a service that is incompatible with all the stuff I've currently invested in, and to make it worse only be able to use it on my work PC??
Much better on unattached site, like Amazon. Now I will finally purchase some NBC shows. Great Move NBC!!!
yeah, that doesn't make you look like an irrational anti-apple idiot.
because they make it easy. Easy to be legit. Easy to watch on the
plane or in a car.
The others still don't get this. They think their content is so
fabulous that we'll jump through a dozen hoops, go to all these
different sites, allow ourselves to be tethered to streaming data.
In other words, the viewer is the last piece considered, rather
than the first. That's why they'll ultimately fail.
failed NBC script?
"Apple's arrogance"? Really?
Seems obvious to anyone possessing even the barest minimum
in reading comprehension skills, that it was NBC's arrogance
that's leading to their fall.
"unattached site"?
Oh... a clever speak for i aM aN aPPlE hAtOrz.
I strongly suggest you Google the term "review unbox", before
touting something you know nothing about.
And with the iPod holding the majority of places in Amazon's top
25 mp3 player sales, it seems downright stupid to alienate your
customer base.
Anyways... enjoy your overpriced content!
The vast majority of us will enjoy our NBC programming for free.
in this issue. NBC was looking to increase prices on almost all of its
products but Apple said no. What's so arrogant about that? In my
book Apple is being a consumer advocate here and not the other
way around. I have nothing against Amazon but NBC just shot itself
in the foot here by leaving Apple the way they did. I wouldn't be
surprised if a "New Deal" is reached within the next 12 months time
between Apple and NBC.
the episode from iTunes, so I could go back and look at tie-ins
within the story line. Well, so much for that. I guess I'll just have to
read a book. Someone once said that, "The difference between
genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." Case in point
with NBC.
The DVD even looks better than the crap quality you get off iTunes. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. And if that isn't enough to tickle your pickle, you could even go a step up and get the HD-DVD season for even more of a quality boost.
Now from NBC's perspective, being able to sell the show online to be viewed by people without quicktime, itunes or an iPod isn't all that stupid after all. If you bother thinking different for a change, then giving the consumer more of a choice isn't that bad of a thing. Granted I would rather see a divx copy of the show with NO DRM as the best alternative, but locking people into iTunes doesn't seem to be very open and liberating.
- Time to short-sell NBC stock
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by Xenu7-214951314497503184010868
September 4, 2007 8:49 PM PDT
- Another bad business decision by the dinosaurs running NBC. Until the shareholders dump them, it's time to short sell NBC stock.
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