Apple drops NBC after NBC drops Apple
Fans of The Office may have to dust off their VCRs, as Apple today announced that it will not be selling the upcoming season of NBC television shows on its online iTunes Store.
The move follows NBC’s decision to not renew its agreement with iTunes after Apple claims they declined to pay more than double the wholesale price for each NBC TV episode. We’re not sure what the “wholsesale” price of a TV show is, but Apple says the proposed cost increase 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.
“We are disappointed to see NBC leave iTunes because we would not agree to their dramatic price increase,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We hope they will change their minds and offer their TV shows to the tens of millions of iTunes customers.”
Apple’s agreement with NBC ends in December. Since NBC would withdraw their shows in the middle of the television season, Apple has decided to not offer NBC TV shows for the upcoming television season beginning in September. NBC supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best selling TV shows last season, accounting for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales.
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