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NBC pull out of iTunes
Dean Mortlock
0 comments 03 September 2007
NBC, the movie arm of Universal, has cancelled its contract with Apple and will remove its video content from the iTunes Store this December.
NBC currently supply around 40 per cent of the videos for the iTunes Store, which includes best-selling titles such as The Office.
Recent negotiations between Apple and NBC failed to deal with issues rising between the two companies, and both seemed to want to blame the other for the breakdown.
In a statement from Apple, it said that, “The move follows NBC's decision to not renew its agreement with iTunes after Apple declined to pay more than double the wholesale price for each NBC TV episode, which would have resulted in the retail price to consumers increasing to $4.99 per episode from the current $1.99. ABC, CBS, FOX and The CW, along with more than 50 cable networks, are signed up to sell TV shows from their upcoming season on iTunes at $1.99 per episode."
NBC replied in a similar statement on Friday, saying: “We never asked to double the wholesale price for our TV shows. In fact, our negotiations were centered on our request for flexibility in wholesale pricing, including the ability to package shows together in ways that could make our content even more attractive for consumers.
“It is clear that Apple’s retail pricing strategy for its iTunes service is designed to drive sales of Apple devices, at the expense of those who create the content that make these devices worth buying.”
The Universal Music Group has also chosen not to resign its contract with Apple, choosing instead to offer its music to the iTunes Store ‘at will’. Disappointingly for Apple, Universal has since chosen to release its music onto other online retailers without Digital Rights Management software (DRM).
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