NBC Crosses the Street to Amazon

Looks like NBC wasn't kidding when it announced last week that it wouldn't renew its contract with Apple. The New York Times reports that NBC will "deepen" its relationship with Amazon Unbox in exchange for variable pricing on its shows and movies, which probably means that the days of "The Office" and "Heroes" on iTunes are drawing to a close.

The Times story didn't have details on what NBC's "variable" pricing on Amazon Unbox might be, although some have speculated that the network might bundle episodes of, say, "The Office" with the movie "Evan Almighty," which stars Steve Carell. Unbox already has episodes of such NBC shows as "The Office," "Heroes," and "Law & Order" on sale for $1.99 an episode, the same price as on iTunes; however, those prices will likely change once the new deal terms go into effect. NBC will also offer some free episodes of its new shows, like "Bionic Woman" and "Journeyman," according to the NYT.

The NBC-Apple dispute came to light Friday, when NBC said it wouldn't renew its contract with Apple over the "variable pricing" issue and worries about DRM; Apple shot back that NBC simply wanted to raise its prices. As it stands, no new episodes of NBC shows will appear on iTunes, and the network's entire catalog will disappear from the service by December. And since Unbox shows and movies use Windows Media DRM, they won't play on Macs or iPods (although they will be compatible with TiVo Series2 or Series3 devices).

When the NBC-Apple story first broke, I thought maybe that both sides were just rattling their swords, and that NBC would think twice before turning its back on iPod and Mac users. But the Peacock network has apparently stood its ground, and the Times points out that the move may lure other networks (long unhappy with Apple's flat $1.99/show fee) to defect from the iTunes video store as well. With Amazon Unbox looking like a safe and cooperative harbor, and with Nokia, Sony (potentially), and NBC itself (with its Hulu service) opening their own online media stores, Apple is facing a much tougher playing field for downloadable videos than it did with music—especially now that there's blood in the water. Meanwhile, those of us who want to see the next season of "Heroes" on our iPods and iPhones will probably have to do so the old-fashioned way: via BitTorrent.

Related:
NBC in Deal With Amazon to Sell Shows on the Web [The New York Times]