Comments on: NBC to Apple: Build antipiracy into iTunes

NBC Universal, which pulled its TV content from iTunes last year, implies it wants Apple to add antipiracy measures to iTunes.

[rcrusoe]

Doesn't Kliavkoff realize iTunes already does this?

NBC's shows, as well as all other iTunes video is already crippled by
DRM? This article makes it seem that Kliavkoff hasn't got a clue
how his product is marketed.

[lepton68]

He wants NO non-DRMed tunes in your iTunes

I think he is implying that he wants your iTunes library and iPod to
only accept DRMed tunes (or video). I think he wants tunes you get
"over the transom" to not play on your Mac or iPod.

No way. Go away.

[daedbird]

Is this what he is worried about?

I wonder if he is worried that on the 5th gen ipod, video can be
played through the audio jack, giving you near-DVD quality video
that can be recorded by a digital or DVD recorder. This is why
rentals do not play on the 5th gen.......I can see an issue on why
you wouldn't like this if you are RENTING movies, but on a DRM'd
copy of a show you purchased? Seriously, what is his real beef?

[AJ Pants]

"Hey Apple, on second thoughts..."

"The music industry guys would have something to say about
how [iTunes] pricing has affected their product over the last few
years,"

So what would these 'industry guys' say about Russian MP3
sites, torrents sites or the thousands of blogs that routinely give
away full albums? How do those affect the bottom line?

Kliavkoff looks more and more like an idiot every time he opens
his mouth.

[smokeonit]

yup

those execs are the same as politicians... ask them how the
"internets" work, you will be amazed what those people will
answer....

[snodman]

Doh!

I think he just might like to go back to the good old days where
NBC actually SOLD their shows online (through the iTunes store)
instead of choosing to go to the expense of building their own
site where they give them away for free and pay for the streaming
bandwidth all by themselves. Besides, iTunes TV shows ARE copy
protected.

[GadgetDon]

I think they're talking more than DRM

My guess is that their idea of anti-piracy is "don't load anything
that isn't DRMed onto an iPod.

[jumpjetta]

Yeah...

I think that's the gist of it. Develop all kinds of countermeasures in
iTunes against content from bittorrent and the like. And heck,
while we've got Apple's ear, why not cripple the whole OS with
anti-piracy measures? Or maybe just turn iTunes into its own
operating system. What the heck... while we're at it.

[krosavcheg]

Between the Lines

What this translates too is that Hulu is tanking.
Hulu's quality is poor to very poor, you can't download or use it
mobile. It has embedded commercial. Come on NBC let me pay
1.99 for something I'd actually like to watch.

[afterhours]

give us decent content...

if NBC had something worth watching that wasn't geared to the
lowest mind on the planet, perhaps someone would want to buy
their 'entertainment'. As it stands, die dinosaur, die.

[zmittie--2008]

$$$$$

I'd like to know what surveys he's referring to when he implies
that content on MP3 players is pirated. I know that people think
this is true but I have never seen any evidence of it.

"Oh come, you know that's how people do it."

No, I don't. The music on my iPod comes either from iTunes
Music Store or my own CDs. The same is true of my friends. At
$.99 a song, $9.99 an album, it is simply too easy to buy the
music/videos.

I think the real issue for NBC is the same as it is for the music
industry. They simply cannot stand the thought that they might
be losing control of pricing. Market forces are providing
alternative methods of distribution and with them come
alternatives in pricing. The music industry initially thought 99
cents a song sounded great in contrast to zero cents a song
they were getting from Napster et al. Now that the model is
proven, they want to take back control of pricing. Oops.

The dinosaurs are stuck in the tar. It's only a matter of time.

[ibeetle]

In other words...

In other words we are loosing our ass and we have to blame
somebody, so... it is all Apples fault. They will not let us take control
of iTunes. They would not bend over and let us screw them and thus
screw the consumer.

Build more antipiracy into downloads? NBC has compleatly lost it's
mind.

Lets see, a iTunes video download will only play on a iPod/iPhone or
computer. It will only playback on a television via AppleTV.

The user cannot copy it, or put it on another branded digital player.
How much more restrictive does NBC want to be.

It appears that NBC is holding out a artificial olive branch that no
company in its right mind would accept. However, to its share
holders NBC can say hey at least we tried. They refused to talk to us.
It is that damn Steve Jobs. Its all Apples fault.

[amandachuck]

It's far more sinister than that...

They want iTunes to detect content you try to add to iTunes from
other sources and if it lacks DRM information, it can't be played.
Which is an affront on your freedoms. It would prohibit you from
creating your own content with your own camera!!!

[jlm429]

hulu is not tanking

actually hulu just sold out all its ad inventory, and people are paying a sh$t ton for ads because they are clickable, trackable, and interactive. Read between the lines - NBC has no intention of ever moving its content back to iTunes.

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/4/zucker_hulu_sold_out_still_talking_to_cbs_viacom

[shanewalker]

Uh, didn't the ADVERTISERS already pay for your shows?

Seems only the likes of pay-TV networks such as HBO et al should
be moaning for payment for shows that would have already
otherwise been underwritten by selling ad time.

Unless they want to offer a way to view ALL their daily content
through a channel sub that is COMMERCIAL-FREE, then they can go
fly a kite, imho...

[giggles]

Agreed: Advertisers Paid

All of this iTunes revenue is just gravy for them. Besides, I could record the show on my VCR and give the tape to someone else. (Retro perhaps, but it works.)

[samkass]

Not on iTunes...

The iTunes versions were ad-free, weren't they? (I never bought shows from them, but that's what I recall.)

[planetboom]

Are you kidding me?

He actually said "especially when the price doesn't reflect the full
value of the product."???? How can he begin to say what the value
of a product is? The value is determined by what someone is willing
to pay for it. Just because this idiot believes some moron is willing
to pay $44.95 for a season of The Office doesn't mean everyone
will. I'd like to see the next headline read "Apple to NBC... where are
you in the ratings again?!?"

[smokeonit]

i agree...

and for the studios to charge half or less of that and to get like
1000% more people to actually buy their season ticket will get their
bottom lines much quicker back in order than trying to trick a few
stupid DAU's into paying their prices....

[ralfthedog]

Truly brilliant programming!

I was flipping through channels and I ran into a NBC program called, "My name is Earl." I was truly impressed by both the writing and the acting in this show.

We need more programming that has this level of character development and complexity of plot. Like "Deal or No Deal" this program caters to those of us with a good education and an excellent income. I am glad to see NBC purchase programs for people who like to buy 100k cars. This will keep your advertisers happy.

[czmyt]

Get Their Content Cheaply And Legally Elsewhere

I cannot imagine that people would pay more than a few cents to have any TV show on their iPod unless 1) they REALLY REALLY want a copy of a specific show for some reason, or 2) they are rich and price is no object. For the rest of us non-millionaires, there is a cheap alternative. I have a TiVo box ($200? plus $13 per month) and I have the TiVo Desktop Plus software ($25 one-time cost) that lets me transfer any show or series to my PC and my iPod.

[smokeonit]

worldwide???

if your in most of the rest of the world even if your a very rich
person doesn't allow you to get movies or TV shows legally...!!!

think about that...

and in europe rights are so messed up that there's only the
dubbed version and the original soundtrack is omitted...!!! even
though itunes is capable of handling various sound tracks!!!

how stupid is that???

and ?2,50 for a show??? no thnx...

$1,99 is ?1,25, not ?2,50 that they're charging right now for tv
series in germany!!!

[daedbird]

What Apple REALLY needs to do is.....

I think NBC Universal would be much happier if Apple would
figure out how to disable the fast-forward button on the iPod
during video playback, rather than any anti-piracy software
which could be hacked almost immediately. I don't have cable,
and I love Hulu, LOVE it. I think if there could be a model where
I had to view those ads while watching content for free on a
video player, I would jump at it in a second, and I think NBC
would too. The only way to truly combat piracy is make it as
easy to get the content, and make it as close to free (or free),
eliminating a crave to go into a dark alley and torrent it. NBC
counted on their content being more valuable than it was,
bringing Apple to its knees. Instead, it only pushed Apple into
offering movie rentals, making them even stronger. Now the
fourth-place network (that is hard to say) is trying to talk
everyone into joining them, hoping to salvage the bad tatic......

[zmittie--2008]

Oh HELL no...

Watching "free content" on a video player where you have to
watch the ads? Yeah, we have that. It's called television. It sucks.
Nobody likes it. That's why I like iTunes Music Store. For two
bucks I can watch the program all I want, when I want without
commercials.

The way to combat piracy is to provide compelling programming
at a reasonable price. Which is what iTunes Store does.

Next.

[Thomas, David]

Oh Please ... that's twisted

Is that you, George Kliavkoff?

[smokeonit]

i disagree

itunes should never take any control from us!

not fast forward, not anything...

apple needs to get rid of the DRM in their vidoes ASAP>>>!!!

[ralfthedog]

Sony may be coming out with a service like that.

It will come with special low visibility software that will provide additional services like tracking your credit card number and provide special, "Value added" advertising when you go to competing websites.

[mfassett]

piracy

I'm pretty sure nbc/universal is on Amazon mp3 downloads... DRM
free! What a bunch of doofuses.

[amandachuck]

What a moron the NBC fellah is...

Uh, you don't need a gatekeeping software to get anything onto an
MP3 player (or more importantly to NBC, and mp4 player...). The
iPod is sort of a special case, but even then there are third party
ways to do just about anything to an iPod.

If iTunes becomes a nanny app, it will be worse than it already is.
NBC can go sit in the corner. They don't have much content worth
watching anyway...

[georgiarat]

Kliavkoff came from MLB

He was at the Media area of Major League Baseball when they
began restricting the ability of fans to receive baseball
broadcasts from radio stations over the internet.

Since I no longer spend most of my time in an area where I can
receive the free radio broadcasts I just watch occasionally when
they are on TV.

He is all about squeezing money out of customers any way he
can. He would probably charge an old lady to help her cross
the street.

[hawkeyeaz1]

Translation

NBC: "Hey! I have a grand idea! :et's try to make digital content uncopyable!"

Apple: "Already tried DRM, failed dismally as it is impossible by nature."

NBC: "Well, we won't allow our content to be sold unless it works!"

Apple: "Then it won't be sold... you lose."

[calpundit]

Forrester analyst

An interesting diversion in the story was the link to a nearly six-
month old story quoting a Forrester analyst saying that Apple
needs NBC more than NBC needs Apple.

Events of the succeeding months seem to have patently
disproved this: iTunes and Apple have managed to become more
powerful than ever without NBC and it's fourth-place
programming.

Unless I'm missing something, it's NBC execs that keep talking
about finding ways to get back on iTunes, not Apple's.

[snodman]

Weren't they making close to $100 million

a year off iTunes sales? It was pure profit to NBC Universal
since there is zero physical inventory and Apple handled all the
cost of doing business and the messy actual sales and retail
hassles of handling thousands and thousands of small credit
card charges.

I'm sure they are making up for losing all that money by selling
LOTS more DVDs. OK, since the DVD's don't come out until
way AFTER THE WHOLE SEASON IS OVER there might be a little
tiny drop off in interest, but after all, DVDs are copy protected
(which seems to be the ONLY important thing), so what could
possibly go wrong with their new brilliant strategy? They must
be making money hand over fist! Let's check their stock price.
Let's see, NBC-Universal doesn't have it's own stock. Seems it
is owned by GE. Whatever COULD have caused GE's stock price
to tank? Way lower per share earnings along with way lower
per share projected earnings going forward! Sheesh.....

[benjwah]

Agreed

Anyway, if Forrester still think that, then I'd disregard the crap out of anything else they have to say. The sidelines of history are LITTERED with analysts who pointed one way or another.
If they really knew anything, they'd have created iTunes themselves.

[Groucho6]

How about anti-crappy-shows software?

NBC and the other traditional networks should put their energy into
producing quality shows instead of the crap they've been foisting
on the public for years. Then maybe their share will stop leaking
off to cable nets like HBO and Showtime who *do* bother to
produce quality programming.

[ralfthedog]

The traditional networks make good shows, then they cancel them.

Jericho was an excellent show. What did they do? cancel it (Don't get me started on FireFly). Numbers on CBS is adequate. I understand they have a new spin off show called Letters where the FBI has some chick who solves crimes using 14'th century English poetry.

On fox, the Sarah Connor Chronicles was disappointingly good. I was hoping that the show would bite the big pickle. Bad scifi is better than no scifi. Now that the show has committed the crime of being good, they will cancel it as well.

[ifiredmyboss.com]

Anything worth pirating???

What do they have worth pirating?? It must be those first year Miami Vice reruns on the NBC site...

[smokeonit]

BSG...

BSG, but that's scifi...

[jonDonson]

Kliavkoff is about as sharp as a bowling ball

Chief Digital Officer for NBC...probably not for much longer.

Asking for anti-piracy in MP3/digital content players is like asking that DVD or CD players only play "verified" content. You know in order to thwart pirated movies or music. It is an outrageous and ignorant request.

This guys has lost touch with reality. Pulling your content from iTunes...stupid. Thinking Hulu is going to be anything other than a black hole to through money down...dumb. Opening your trap to speak...very questionable.

If I were and NBC Universal shareholder I would start clamoring for this guy's head. Geez where do they find these gems?

[pmbx]

I say let um...

hang! Who want's NBC's content anyway! Talk about idiots wanting
back at the helm! Their ship (iTunes) sailed a long time ago without
them! Go HULU NBC!

[jypeterson]

Same Old, Same Old . . . Media

We are no longer the consumers of a timeframe of shows on primetime. He even pointed it out with YouTube.

We are a nation of instant gratification, but only for a price. NBC wanted to charge higher prices, but Apple knows what consumers wants (and they have repeatedly shown this over and over again) and kicked NBC out of the iTunes world. With the continued proliferation of wireless iPods and iPhones, we will continue to see the instant consumerism prevail. Those who do not play nicely with Apple will loose.