Thursday, September 20, 2007

NBC Frees TV Downloads

NBC has taken its tussle with Apple to the next level by giving away downloads of TV shows that used to be sold on iTunes. Translation: take yer $1.99 fee and shove it, Steve.

NBC has made the smart long-term decision. TV networks are better and monetizing through advertising and will draw more viewers to its shows by letting people download for free. TV content is so readily available that its not worth paying for in most cases. NBC has the advertiser relationships in place, so getting sponsorships of downloads will be a snap.

The free downloads aren't really competing with iTunes -- they are competing with DVRs that allow people to skip past ads. NBC gets to register users who download the player software and control if and how ads could be skipped. This service will also reduce the bandwidth requirements of streaming, saving the company money. The next logical step will be broader video on demand offerings through cable companies and tighter relationships with TiVo.

For now Apple users are shut out from the free downloads as the software only runs on Windows -- a nice reminder to Apple that despite the iPod and iPhone, it's still a Microsoft world for PCs.

Posted By John Gartner at 09:06 AM
Permanent Link: NBC Frees TV Downloads | Comments (2)

(2) Comments on NBC Frees TV Downloads

"NBC has made the smart long-term decision." What are you smoking? Why do you think people are buying TV shows and paying TiVo services? People can't make any more clear that they hate commercials. Yeah, great. Let me watch TV shows with commercials that I can only watch in a Windows computer. Because I assume taking the show with you in your iPod and watch it wherever you want doesn't matter. And maybe it's a Microsoft world for PCs, but even a small market, like Macs, means millions of costumers.

Comments by Commenter : Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 01:23 AM

to the Mac evangelical above. stop crawling websites and posting nonsensical crap just because Apple pays you to do it.
you are an even bigger moron than Apple would like to believe.
people dont want ads, and they dont want to pay 1.99 everytime they have to buy something. period. this is just the beginning baby.

Comments by rover : Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 11:44 AM

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