NBC, iTunes Spar Over Pricing

NEW YORK, August 31: NBC Universal is reportedly not
renewing its deal to make some of its content available for download on the
iTunes Store, according to published reports, after disagreeing with Apple over
pricing.

The New York Times
reports that NBC Universal titles, which includes cult favorites like The
Office and Battlestar Galactica, account for 40 percent of the video downloads from
iTunes. NBC Universal reportedly wants better piracy controls from Apple’s
popular digital storefront and wants to be able to bundle videos in order to
increase its revenues from the service.

The tensions between the two companies over pricing control
follows the decision by Vivendi-owned Universal Music Group to not renew its
contract with iTunes.

NBC Universal’s current iTunes deal, for about 1,500 hours
of news, sports and entertainment content, runs until the end of the year.
Talks are said to be ongoing between the two companies, and there is still a
chance a new deal could be reached by December.