Farewell, iTunes and hello Amazon for popular NBC Universal shows such as "Battlestar Galactica" and "Heroes."
Just days after NBCU and Apple Inc. decided to part ways in offering television shows and movies from the NBCU library online, the media company has closed on an agreement that would make its programming available on the Amazon Web site Unbox, which will allow NBCU to offer a variety in programming instead of iTunes' flat rate of $2 per episode.
"Amazon is a company that understands the value we provide as content owners to its business," said Jean-Briac Perrette, president of NBC Universal Digital Distribution, to the New York Times.
It is not clear what Unbox's pricing structure will be for NBC shows, but the struggling online distribution service has offered 30 percent discounts to those buying entire seasons of television shows in the past, and that may continue with Unbox. While NBCU's contract with Apple doesn't end until December, Apple already has said they would not be releasing any new programming from NBCU on its service.
Apple has maintained that keeping prices consistent across the board is attractive to users, and have pointed to the fact that iTunes is the most popular media download service to bolster their claim. NBCU and other media companies, such as Fox owner News Corp., have been saying otherwise, saying that media companies want to be able to package some of its products together, and can't do that under the current iTunes structure.
For those viewers of iTunes who may follow NBCU over to Unbox, they will have one drawback ... Unbox is not directly compatible with iPods, the primary device used by iTunes customers in watching their content.
About the Author:
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.
