Flexibility is key: NBC strikes deal with Amazon.com’s Unbox, abandons iTunes
Unable to reach a pricing deal with iTunes, NBC turns to Amazon.com’s digital video download service, Unbox this season.
NBC shows such as “Law and Order”, “My Name Is Earl”, “The Office,” “Heroes” and “30 Rock” and SciFi channel favorite “Battlestar Galactica” are available at Unbox for download today.
The whole iTunes vs NBC battle has been fraught with finger pointing. With Apple claiming the deal fell through because NBC wanted to push per-show prices up to $5, and NBC claiming Apple has refused to allow multiple episodes to be bundled for a discount.
Despite Apple’s claims, NBC and Amazon.com’s bundling plan looks like it is cheaper for the customer. Individual episodes are still priced at $1.99, but if you buy a full season, there is a discount of up to 30 percent. Amazon.com has not announced if the pricing structure will be the same for new episodes coming this season.
All during the 2007-08 season, new episodes will be available to download the day after they air on television. Additionally, customers are given an online media center where they can access their purchases from different computers or devices.
With Apple admitting that 30% of their video sold last year was NBC content, this is a great coup for Unbox, and a big hurt for iTunes.
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