Remember when NBC pulled out of iTunes effective December? And then Apple said that it was going to dump NBC from the store in September? To which NBC said, “oh no you don’t”?
Cynics among us have suggested that the whole thing is just posturing, and after more negotiation over pricing, and flirting with other download options, NBC and Apple would end up finding a way to make it work.
Well, nothing’s been announced. But the last time we checked, all of NBC’s shows were still up on iTunes. What’s more, one new NBC series — the (quite good, if you ask me) comedy-action-drama series Chuck — is available on iTunes. And not just available, but available with a Season Pass option.
Is this an odd quirk? A secret indication that NBC and Apple are still talking? I’m not sure. And what are we to make of the fact that Chuck appears in the Comedy listings, but not on NBC’s own iTunes page?
UPDATE: Less than 30 minutes after this post went live, NBC’s page was updated to include links to not just Chuck, but new drama series Journeyman (with no Season Pass option), both of which premiered last night. My super-secret Macworld sources also inform me that these leaks have something to do with the studios who produce these series. (Chuck is produced by Warner Bros., and Journeyman by Fox.) However (as I’ve explained in the comments), all previous series not owned by the network that aired them have only come on air as a result of agreements between the networks and the studios. Scrubs being the trailblazer, since it went on iTunes only after NBC (its network) and Disney (its owner) agreed on how to split the profits. (Side question: will Scrubs remain on iTunes if NBC does truly pull out of the store?)
What does this mean? Probably that Warner Bros. and Fox didn’t want NBC’s spat with Apple to harm the shows they’re producing for the network. But I’m pretty certain that the studios couldn’t do this on their own: they needed NBC to agree to this approach.
So, a new question: Is this a thaw in the NBC-Apple relationship, or just a rebellion by the makers of some of NBC’s new series against Apple’s spat with the peacock? As they say in the biz, stay tuned.
Note the copyright.
Warner Bros. owns the copyright (and the digital distribution rights one would presume) to the show. So even though the show is broadcast on NBC, WB can still distribute the show digitally any way they feel like. Or rather, they must have a contract with NBC which says that WB can do whatever they want digitally. (of course, IANAL)
Nice catch, though!
Not quite true. NBC owns first-run rights to "Chuck." This almost certainly couldn't have been done without NBC being a part of the process.
"Scrubs" is the key example here. Before "Scrubs," no non-network-owned shows were on iTunes. NBC and Disney had to go in on a deal to share the iTunes revenue for "Scrubs" before it could appear on the store.
Unless Warner negotiated control of the digital in-season rights to "Chuck" -- which I seriously doubt -- NBC had to be a major player in allowing this. It's not something WB could do alone.
What about returning episodes/seasons of Heroes, Friday Night Lights and The Office? Any news?