I already think television shows are over-priced on the iTunes store: yet NBC Universal wants to double their (wholesale) price. There isn't a series currently in NBC's fall lineup that is worth paying $1.99 an episode for, much less more. If the episode was free, perhaps, or 20¢, maybe. Not more.
This seems more like a preliminary skirmish over the upcoming launch Hulu.com (an NBC/Fox joint venture which will be a competitor to the iTunes store)
Rebecca Dana and Nick Wingfield write:
NBC, Apple Battle Over iTunes:
NBC Universal on Friday confirmed a New York Times report that it would pull its TV shows off the iTunes service when its contract expires in December unless it was able to get better pricing for its shows, which include popular sitcom “The Office.” In response, Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., said it has decided not to offer NBC television shows on iTunes for the coming season, starting in September.Apple said it had refused NBC demands that Apple pay more than double the wholesale price for each NBC television episode on iTunes. NBC, a subsidiary of General Electric Co., denied this in a subsequent statement, saying “our negotiations were centered on our request for flexibility in wholesale pricing.”
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While Apple is still a relatively small player in video sales, it is the third-largest retailer of music in the U.S., after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co., according to NPD Group Inc.
Technorati Tags: Apple, Corporate_Media, idiots, iTunes, media
Now, new episodes of Deadwood - I'd pay for those