
NBC comments on the iTunes contract negotiation. NBC doesn’t seem to understand the ecosystem of the internet. And they clearly don’t understand who downloads shows to watch on iPods and Apple TV. Jeremy Horwitz, of iLounge, does a good job of explaining the situation to NBC.
Apples iTunes allows customers to legally download content for a small fee. Previously, content was downloaded for free. Apparently NBC prefers that we return to the good old days. It’s amazing that, even at this late date, people don’t understand what it means to live in the Age of Digital Reproduction (the Age of Mechanical Reproduction has been surpassed, see Walter Benjamin). The means to reproduce the digital thing are contained in the thing itself. Companies like NBC don’t want anyone to know that. Or better yet, they’d like to change the nature of the digital.
Note to NBC, the time isn’t right yet. Take something rather than nothing. Keep pricing simple, take the money.
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