The New York Times is reporting today that American television network NBC is going to end its relationship to sell TV shows through the iTunes Store.
According to the NYT:
The media conglomerate -- which is the No. 1 supplier of digital video to Apple's online store, accounting for about 40 percent of downloads -- notified Apple of its decision late yesterday, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity because negotiations between the companies are confidential.
A spokesman for NBC Universal, part of General Electric, confirmed the decision, but otherwise declined to comment. A spokesmen for Apple declined to comment. The decision by NBC Universal highlights the escalating tension between Apple and media companies, which are unhappy that Apple will not give them more control over the pricing of songs and videos that are sold on iTunes.
NBC, if you don't know, makes shows including Heroes and The Office (the American version). As the story indicates, those properties are worth 40% percent of iTunes TV downloads - that's a hefty slice of pie to lose.
It's terrible timing, coming just two days after the announcement that TV shows are now downloadable in the UK via iTunes (here's our story). It's swings and roundabouts, or perhaps karmic retribution since Apple got a lot of free publicity with their attempt to spoil Nokia's own launch announcement earlier in the week.
