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Columnist Calls NBC the Loser in iTunes Spat

Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 8:45 AM - by

NBC is coming out on the losing end of its public spat with Apple over iTunes pricing, according to Vince Horiuchi, a columnist writing for the Salt Lake City Tribune. Mr. Horiuchi wrote that NBC's timing was terrible in light of Apple's new video-oriented iPod product line-up, and that the network is losing out on the kind of attention that shows like The Office receive from iTunes, attention many have credited with the show's survival.

"NBC," he wrote, "which is in fourth place in the ratings, needs iTunes to drum up interest in its series. [...] The service gives extra visibility to shows like Friday Night Lights or 30 Rock, which need the exposure if they are to survive another season."

The root of the problem, according to Mr. Horiuchi, is that NBC doesn't understand the sea change that iTunes is bringing to the world of Television programming, and instead sees service as merely another revenue stream. It's that lack of understanding that makes the network a bigger loser than Apple by pulling its programming out of iTunes.

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geoduck said:

member since 30 Dec 2003 with 1922 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:24 am

I can't remember the last time I watched NBC. Anything. At All. I catch PBS a fair bit. Ocasionally I see something on CBS or ABC that catches my attention. But on NBC; The Office 30 Rock, Earl, Deal or No Deal, nothing even slightly interests me. Personally I think NBC has a deeper problem than not being on iTS.

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Sir Harry Flashman said:

member since 08 Feb 2007 with 792 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:46 am

geoduck wrote:
I can't remember the last time I watched NBC. Anything. At All. I catch PBS a fair bit. Ocasionally I see something on CBS or ABC that catches my attention. But on NBC; The Office 30 Rock, Earl, Deal or No Deal, nothing even slightly interests me. Personally I think NBC has a deeper problem than not being on iTS.

Same here pretty much when I watch NBC it is for the local news. Furthermore I usually watch CBS or KUSI (a local independent channel) for news, it just that sometimes they are airing sports or something.

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DaiMac said:

member since 29 Jun 2001 with 952 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:48 am

Well, I totally agree with you for the most part GeoDuck, the really stupid thing is that while I don't watch NBC (or any of the major networks) that much, I did buy The Office, Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica on iTunes last season, in part because while I could DVR those shows the quality on my local cable is such that iTunes looks way better on my AppleTV than the stuff on my cable (outside of some HD channels).

So where NBC got around $100 out of me over the course of last season (they didn't get all that money, but surely the majority as I know Apple doesn't make much), they get nothing this time. Its even made me reconsider buying BSG on HD-DVD; not that I plan to pirate it or anything, but I have a hard time handing Universal another $100 when they behave so badly toward their customers.

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:50 am

The real problem is that most media companies - particularly television and film - don't understand the internet or the changing face of consumer demand.

Long gone are the nights where the audience will put aside their personal schedule to make time for the television schedule. The audience no longer wants to wait for the next episode. And for each hiatus that a show takes impacts the amount of people that want to watch a show. Look at Lost, for example. Initially there was a large audience that tuned in each week. But, thanks to these hiatuses, the audience has given up (for the most part). Why bother to tune in each week when you can download the show and/or season and watch it at your leisure? Uninterrupted. No hiatus. Etc.

Be it the iTunes Store or Torrent - viewers will now determine what they want to watch and when. This is a stark reality that the television big wigs are missing completely. And, sad to say, that is what will kill the television medium (so to speak). If the networks/studios continue to ignore the ever changing face of the online world they are doomed to smaller profits, smaller audiences and short lived series due to their archaic tools in which they measure their businesses.

In short, the television and film industry need fresh ideas and a new perspective.

Otherwise they are doomed to a niche market.

raNdOM

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:03 am

"And, sad to say, that is what will kill the television medium (so to speak)."

To quote a famous Starfleet officer, "Then let them die!".

Television in general these days is simply awful. That is why NBC has so few shows people are willing to watch. Hell, even the other networks don't have that much that's worth watching. After all, even on Sci-Fi, other than BSG, and maybe one or two other shows, what is there worth watching? Dresden Files was canned, and there's nothing that's been close to how good BSG is since Farscape finished.

I can't say much about other TV networks, because frankly, I don't watch them. raNdOM is right... gone are the days of TV viewers being captive audiences... viewers choose their own content now, and have a way to do it without commercials. TV networks have to adapt (by offering better quality content and adjusting to digital distribution), or die. Frankly, most of them should simply just die.

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Tiger said:

member since 17 Jun 2003 with 1018 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:06 am

You know, I could say "Way to jump on the bandwagon there. The discussions of NBC as loser in this fight began about twenty seconds after it was announced."

But that would just be mean.

It's Monday. Let's start the week out on a positive not.

I'm positive, they're right on this one.

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geoduck said:

member since 30 Dec 2003 with 1922 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 11:57 am

Guest wrote:
The real problem is that most media companies - particularly television and film - don't understand the internet or the changing face of consumer demand.

Actually that's a significant point. I used to watch a fair amount of TV. Then I would do internet stuff while the TV was on. Last night, for the first time I spent the evening watching video from the web. I never even turned on the TV.

For a number of years I've watched as each quarter this or that network crows about how they are #1 in the ratings. Everyone else could see that they were winning the biggest share of a shrinking pie and soon there would be no pie left at all. We're already seeing networks and specialty channels moving into the web. I suspect that it won't be long before sombody big drops broadcast completely and survives ONLY on web revenue. It may have already happened.

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acdc1174 said:

member since 16 Apr 2004 with 723 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:08 pm

NBC "proper" has Heroes, which is quite good. They are debuting a new show called Journeyman starring the dude from HBO's Rome (he played Vorenus) that looks interesting. They also own SciFi Channel's Battlestar Galactica. Excellent show, and one that I DID purchase from iTunes. I suspect this hiatus from iTunes will be temporary, but it is unfortunate for consumers.

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:07 pm

Guest wrote:
After all, even on Sci-Fi, other than BSG, and maybe one or two other shows, what is there worth watching? Dresden Files was canned, and there's nothing that's been close to how good BSG is since Farscape finished.

_Doctor Who_. Oh yes.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:03 pm

NBC responded by calling the columnist a pig fornicator. The reporter chose NBC out and the fight will be after school under the bridge. Don't tell any teachers or any girls.

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DaiMac said:

member since 29 Jun 2001 with 952 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:38 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Guest wrote:
After all, even on Sci-Fi, other than BSG, and maybe one or two other shows, what is there worth watching? Dresden Files was canned, and there's nothing that's been close to how good BSG is since Farscape finished.

_Doctor Who_. Oh yes.

While I agree with you 100% (don't like the current doctor quite as much as the first of the new series, but he kicked ass on Heroes so I forgive him for leaving), I can see not including it with Sci-Fi as its really a BBC show. Of course, most BBC content is also not yet on iTunes, but apparently they are in negotiations with Microsoft to put some content on the Xbox Live Marketplace:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2412752.ece

Whether that even applies to the US version of the XBLM, I'm not quite clear.

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burrito said:

member since 07 Aug 2005 with 177 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:06 pm

i remember hearing that initially, itunes was responsible for putting "the office" on the map. it was certainly the reason that i began watching it-- i wanted to try itunes' tv shows, and there were only a handful to choose from, so i picked an episode of that, and ended up becoming a regular purchaser/viewer. i don't have the time to follow a regular tv show live, and i'm horrible about setting my DVR (and i hate having to forward through fraking commercials), so i guess i'm just gonna have to wait for the dvds for my heroes, office, and BSG love.

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Sep 10, 2007 6:13 pm

DaiMac wrote:
Well, I totally agree with you for the most part GeoDuck, the really stupid thing is that while I don't watch NBC (or any of the major networks) that much, I did buy The Office, Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica on iTunes last season, in part because while I could DVR those shows the quality on my local cable is such that iTunes looks way better on my AppleTV than the stuff on my cable (outside of some HD channels).

So where NBC got around $100 out of me over the course of last season (they didn't get all that money, but surely the majority as I know Apple doesn't make much), they get nothing this time. Its even made me reconsider buying BSG on HD-DVD; not that I plan to pirate it or anything, but I have a hard time handing Universal another $100 when they behave so badly toward their customers.

Save your $ and watch your NBC shows on your AppleTV for free by going to www.nbc.com and watching them streaming.

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 6:28 pm

Anonymous wrote:

Save your $ and watch your NBC shows on your AppleTV for free by going to www.nbc.com and watching them streaming.

Some. None of the shows offered are of even the slightest interest to me. The only shows I watch on NBC are the Law & Order series. Notice that The Office is also not available.

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Terrin said:

member since 29 Jan 2006 with 414 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:47 pm

NBC has a few good shows that I like. I am a long time ER fan. As another person pointed out Battlestar Galactica is awesome. His Name is Earl was Good, but I haven't had the chance to watch it in a while. I hate to admit it, but I also like the World's Biggest Loser.

With all that said, I only paid for Battlestar and would never buy a show from Amazon or Walmart.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:33 pm

gslusher wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Save your $ and watch your NBC shows on your AppleTV for free by going to www.nbc.com and watching them streaming.

Some. None of the shows offered are of even the slightest interest to me. The only shows I watch on NBC are the Law & Order series. Notice that The Office is also not available.

If you don't watch NBC shows, then this news is of no impact to you, and you are of no impact to the moves NBC and Apple are making. However, The Office is indeed available for viewing on NBC.com, but of course there aren't any shows up there because they only have up the current season, and the episodes are only up for a limited time. When the season starts, on September 27th, you should be able to watch the season premiere on NBC.com for free the next day. This is perfect for the original poster since he already owns the previous seasons that he bought off of iTunes. Now he can still keep up with the show that he likes, and he does not have to shell out any money to be put into the corporate hands at Apple & NBC. In addition to full episodes online, you can also watch 2-minute recaps, which I think exist for most if not all previous episodes of The Office, though I don't really know since I only bother with watching the full episodes.

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