NBC-Apple Standoff Means I Lose

Airplane rides are my guilty pleasure. Before I board any flight, I allow myself to buy a copy of People (or if I really have no shame, Us Weekly). It's also one of the few times I let myself purchase videos off of the iTunes Store. I can't think of a better way to kill a few hours than in a cramped chair with legs shoved up against the seat in front of me catching up on the latest episodes of "The Office."

Only I won't be able to do that anymore. With NBC Universal's initial announcement that it would not renew its iTunes contract past this year, and with Apple's subsequent announcement that it would not sell any of NBC's new season of shows, the biggest loser in all of this is the consumer. Backstory in a nutshell: After failing to budge Apple on pricing and other issues, NBC informed Cupertino that it wouldn't renew its contract. Apple's response? An underlyingly seething press release stating that it would cease sales of NBC shows in September along with an explanation that NBC wanted to more than double the price of shows. Bottom line, if Apple had caved, I would be paying $4.99 (instead of $1.99) for an episode of "The Office."

Obviously this is a huge bummer. As a consumer, a part of me wants to have the greatest choice possible. Would I have paid $4.99? Probably. When you want something, you'll pay for it. Yet I also appreciate Apple having a backbone and standing up for consumers (though I'm sure there are selfish reasons for their decision too). If they were to cave to NBC, then the floodgates would open, and every network would probably start drooling over the thought of upping their prices. So go Apple. I hope that this move works--for my sake.

Comments

Post a comment Post a comment

0 / 1000 max characters