(The below summed up if you don't want to read: most of NBC's real incentive for their actions come from dealing with the ongoing writer's strike, not necessarily from internet sales woes. Sorry for the long comment.)
You guys need to realize that most of this is in reaction to the writer's strike (going on for over four weeks). The strike was not just over "more money," it was about the writers wanting more of a share in online and new media sales. This caused NBC to shift the blame entirely on distributers like Apple (whether or not this is a legitimate complaint is up to debate). BUT, because the strike isn't coming to any end, NBC had to make some kind of move to shift things. I.E., because blaming another company seemed like a cop-out, it's in NBC's best interest to take the majority of their sales into their own hands (also some sales through Amazon), so that way, they can more directly control the profits they receive from "new media," and throw some of their own bargaining chips on the table to end the strike.
Yes, they would have wanted mroe money from their iTunes sales, but it wasn't a desperate situation until the writers demanded more money from what they already considered to be marginal sales. By pulling their content, they might even be able to pin the writers down by saying their online sales have "significantly dropped," but who knows if they'll buy into the tactic.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DrummerBoy @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:57AM
(The below summed up if you don't want to read: most of NBC's real incentive for their actions come from dealing with the ongoing writer's strike, not necessarily from internet sales woes. Sorry for the long comment.)
You guys need to realize that most of this is in reaction to the writer's strike (going on for over four weeks). The strike was not just over "more money," it was about the writers wanting more of a share in online and new media sales. This caused NBC to shift the blame entirely on distributers like Apple (whether or not this is a legitimate complaint is up to debate). BUT, because the strike isn't coming to any end, NBC had to make some kind of move to shift things. I.E., because blaming another company seemed like a cop-out, it's in NBC's best interest to take the majority of their sales into their own hands (also some sales through Amazon), so that way, they can more directly control the profits they receive from "new media," and throw some of their own bargaining chips on the table to end the strike.
Yes, they would have wanted mroe money from their iTunes sales, but it wasn't a desperate situation until the writers demanded more money from what they already considered to be marginal sales. By pulling their content, they might even be able to pin the writers down by saying their online sales have "significantly dropped," but who knows if they'll buy into the tactic.