New York – The CEO of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) says the company is not
likely to offer its programs for digital rental on Apple’s (NASD: AAPL) recently announced iTunes
TV rentals service, arguing they are priced too low at 99 cents, Reuters
reported. "We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our
content. … We thought it would devalue our content," NBCU head Jeff
Zucker reportedly told an investor conference.
Last week, Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) CEO
Barry Meyer made similar comments, saying Apple’s TV rentals are priced too low
and will "cannibalize" sales of its programs, in explaining why that
company is not participating in the service.
Related Links:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN2219136720100922
http://tinyurl.com/26zsabj
(DMW previous coverage)
Given the fact most episodic television is available via free replay (from networks’ own sites) online, usually available on cable systems’ VOD at no extra cost, and that the final cost of buying a whole season on disc is generally below $2.00, how much does he really think he’s getting per rental?
For that matter, how much are they getting today for episode rentals? Maybe they fear the rental via iTunes detracting from the purchase through iTunes, but it seems that Apple’s rightly figured out here that AppleTV can’t compete with Blu-Ray and DVD, but it’s a fine competitor to other PPV services. So the chances of that being a real issue are pretty small, too.
Let’s see… Amazon is offering episodes between $0.99 and $2.99… wonder if anyone’s buying. This weeks’ “Glee” and “Castle”, for example, $0.99 each, but last week’s is free. NBC’s own flagship show, “The Event”, is $1.99, but last week’s is free. Maybe that’s the problem… Apple doesn’t like free.