NBC content gets removed from iTunes

Well folks, it's finally, really happened. According to reports, the last vestiges of NBC have been uprooted and removed from iTunes. In accordance with the company's contract (which expired this month), all the shows you know and love have disappeared and been trucked over to the network's own content portal, NBC Direct. So, those of you hoping to make that one last 30 Rock purchase before the big N cleaned house can put the dream to rest, as well as hopes of grabbing anything from Bravo, mun2, NBC, NBC News, CNBC, NBC Sports, Sci Fi, Sleuth, Telemundo and the USA Network. Hey, at least you can get them at the network's site... what's that? You only get to watch shows for 48 hours, and there's no Mac support? Oh well.

[Via TUAW]

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 5:31AM]

NBC was always about earning money. Just like every other company in the world. They're in it for profit. In the U.S., at least, a publicly owned company has a legal responsibility to make as much profit for its shareholders as legally possible.

Entertaining viewers is part of that, but only insofar as entertained viewers = more viewers. More viewers = higher advertising rates, which is part of higher profits. Keeping your customer happy is only tangentially important to any company. Keeping them paying is of central importance.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 5:36AM]

I agree but if you compare NBC to apple in regards to business, apple puts the consumer first and not 2nd unlike NBC.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 3:14AM]

I wonder if apple will cut their advertising budget on NBC. that'd be backlash!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 4:54AM]

I am glad to see this happen. I hope we end up with many services, all offering different subsets of all the content. I hope this will be too confusing for the users, and that the services will die a horrible death.

Until DRM is dropped, the only ethical thing to do is to download the shows illegally. Supporting content with DRM is like donating money to Satan. I can't believe anyone actually bought shows from iTunes, you deserve to be screwed if you do anything like that.

And since I only run GNU/Linux and *BSD, none of the legal alternatives are available to me anyway.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 2:19PM]

That's some nifty ethical thinking - "I don't like the idea of you putting restrictions on that content that you created. I think it's wrong. So I'm going to steal it!"

That's pretty much the same kind of thinking that drove that pro-lifer to go out and shoot some doctors who performed abortions.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 5:02AM]

NBC needs to be taught a lesson. I'll never BUY another show from NBC again. NBC shows = Bittorrent. Make money from that -- Bitches!!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 11:20AM]

http://www.xtvi.com/

nuff said

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 12:23PM]

I pay $60 a month and get hundreds of hours of TV shows. It's amazing technology and the viewing quality vastly exceeds the tiny screens of portable devices. For those few shows that I want to purchase, I buy them prerecorded on another technological marvel and watch them on a large, wonderful screen.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 1:13PM]

haha Mac users.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 1:48PM]

So, basically, NBC is screw you people who want digital writes freedom...
I hope it bites them in the ass.
I certainly won't be download/buying anything from their nasty website. Im sure that there will be commercials that you can't fast forward through on there too.
UGH!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 4:53PM]

well here is my stance... itunes is the most popular legitmate download system. NBC pulled their content from it, moved their stuff to a system that doesn't work, because it is DRMed to the hilt. I'm going to use bitorent now, especially since I have a mac. Sorry NBC, you just lost some money, because you had to be all mean.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 3rd 2007 6:00PM]

WTF is wrong with you people? This is the most overt misinformation campaign I've ever seen. NBC.com does work on a Mac. On my Mac Pro, using Safari, I just watched "The Office" on NBC.com.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 4th 2007 12:12AM]

Who cares? Macs suck anyways.