Don't expect to get your fix of "Battlestar Galactica," "Heroes" or even "Bionic Woman" through iTunes this coming season.
NBC Universal, the parent company of networks including NBC and the SciFi Channel, has decided to pull the plug on its offerings with Apple's iTunes service, eliminating what was the computer company's largest supplier of videos.
The issues aren't with quality or the number of downloads. Instead, it seems the two sides couldn't agree to financial terms. And now there's rumblings that NBCU might be taking a route similar to Viacom in looking to start a competing service.
According to the New York Times, this parting of the ways seems to be the latest battle in an overall war between media outlets and Apple over pricing. NBCU will now joined the Universal Music Group -- which is part of Universal's old company Vivendi -- as not maintaining full-time contracts with Apple. NBCU's programs would be available until November when the company's two-year deal is set to expire.
NBCU says its most popular shows sold through iTunes are "Battlestar Galactica," "The Office" and "Heroes," but company officials say they have not been reassured that Apple is tackling piracy issues which are plaguing the shows on the Internet. However, that doesn't mean that the two sides may not return to the negotiating table and hammer out an agreement before the current contract expires in December.
Some of the complaints coming from nearly every entertainment company that uses iTunes (except ABC and Disney, since Apple CEO Steve Jobs sits on the board) are that selling shows for $2 is too cheap. NBCU is looking to try and maximize profits by bundling some of its programming together, like having the Steve Carell film "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" with Carell's hit series "The Office."
Apple, however, has resisted such moves, saying that keeping prices consistent and simplified is one of the reasons iTunes has become one of the leaders in music and television content providers.
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Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha and the entire BlipNetwork. He owns Quantum Global Media Inc., the parent corporation of the BlipNetwork. He's a print journalist by day, and lives in Tampa, Fla.