NBC to return to iTunes Store?

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NBC to return to iTunes Store?

Recent comments made by Apple CEO Steve Jobs and NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker suggest that the two companies may be ready to resume negotiations in regards to the sale of the studio’s television shows on the iTunes Store. “We’ve said all along that we admire Apple, that we want to be in business with Apple,” Zucker said in a recent interview. “We’re great fans of Steve Jobs.” In a separate interview, Jobs said, “We’ll put it back together on the TV thing. Everybody lost (when Zucker pulled his content off iTunes). But NBC is a great company, and Apple is a great company.” “Fortunately,” Jobs half-joked, “there was a writers’ strike, so it didn’t matter as much as it might have.” In August, NBC announced it would not renew its contract to sell its television shows on the iTunes Store, and eventually pulled its lineup from the Store in December; however, NBC Universal has been announced as a partner on Apple’s new iTunes Movie Rentals service, further suggesting that the stalemate between the two companies may soon be at an end.

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Comments

1

I guess NBC were hoping that other studios would follow their lead so they could leverage more from future negotiations.

They have obviously been losing out. I certainly have not gone to their site to download anything, I have just stopped catching up on missed episodes.

They repeat them so often, that it is no biggie.

The movie rental deal gives a nice platform to quietly bring back the TV parts, and I guess they can still keep their store open for those that use it.

Posted by Boca on January 21, 2008 at 8:40 AM (PDT)

2

Hellz yeah! Bring back Battlestar Galactica in time for the new season!!!

Posted by Matthew Dunn on January 21, 2008 at 9:11 AM (PDT)

3

Isn’t Jeff Zucker the same tool who mocked Apple and skewered iTunes users just a few weeks ago? Didn’t he suggest that we were all larcenous cretins for getting episodes of “The Office” for a couple of bucks? Oh, and wasn’t there some derisive comment about how Apple had pushed a bunch of hardware “on the backs” of NBC content?

I know it’ll probably get resolved, but personally, I hope Jobs reminds Zucker where his sphincter is located, and just how forcefully he can insert his newfound magnanimity in it.

Posted by Flippy Hambone on January 21, 2008 at 10:00 AM (PDT)

4

The Writer’s Strike couldn’t have worked out better for Steve Jobs, actually.
They want compensation for other media distribution, yet here’s NBC willing to give away product just to wean people away from iTunes where people were willing to pay for it.

Before that used to work, to create traffic in hopes of making a profit in the future based on the marketshare. But when they gotta all of a sudden need to pay out, it’s become a lot more costly.

Serves NBC right!
At least this one situation benefited iTunes from the strike.

Posted by will_bc on January 21, 2008 at 12:24 PM (PDT)

5

somebody ask Zucker what crow tastes like.

Posted by hydra-calm on January 22, 2008 at 10:25 AM (PDT)

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