Did NBC cave? [u]
September 10th 2008
Bloomberg reports that NBC Universal came back to iTunes because it got what it wanted vis-a-vis "flexible pricing." Yesterday, Apple announced the return of the broadcaster to iTunes and that shows would be available for 99¢ (legacy), $1.99 (current) and $2.99 (hi-def).
"Before we pulled our content off we were by far the No. 1 video content provider on iTunes," said JB Perette, president of digital distribution. "In short order, we'll be back in that No. 1 position."
"The key is to make our content available in as many places as possible," said Jeffrey Zucker, CEO, NBC Universal. "We want our content to be ubiquitous."
Of course, there is some question whether NBC pulled their content or whether they were kicked off, though that spat has apparently been settled.
It's worth remembering that in September of last year Apple said it was considering 99¢ per episode pricing.
Editor's note: iTunes' base per episode price hasn't changed and HD TV pricing is in line with other formats already available on the store. Yes, the 99¢ catalog title price is "new," but that move was telegraphed about a year ago.
None of the publicly available information about NBC' iTunes Store return indicates that Apple has compromised. I certainly could be wrong, but it sure looks like NBC caved...
[u] News.com is reporting comments from Eddy Cue, vice president, iTunes, indicating that the 99¢ (legacy), $1.99 (current) and $2.99 (HD) pricing NBC is the same available to all content owners on the iTunes Store.
He said Viacom has offered many of its shows for 99 cents, including episodes of South Park and MTV's The Hills ... [T]he $2.99 price NBC is selling its HD content for is the same price for all HD content. [u]
What's your take?
