NBC reaches Amazon TV deal after iTunes break
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NBC Universal has reached a deal  for online retailer Amazon.com Inc to sell television show  downloads, it said on Tuesday, just days after the media  company pulled the plug on a contract with Apple Inc&#39;siTunes.
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We were already pretty sure that Apple and NBC fell out over the prices of TV shows on iTunes, but the head of NBC apparently asked Apple for a cut of iPod revenue as well.
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NBC Universal said some of its news, entertainment, and sports television programming will be available for use on blogs, social network profiles, and the like as widgets.
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Amazon.com has begun a new chapter in its battle for customers&#39; ears: it has agreed to pay $300 million for Audible, a seller of audio books that has a close relationship with Apple.Ten-year-old Audible sells spoken-word content such as audio books, magazines, and radio programs through a number of channels, including its Web sites in the U.S. and U.K. It has 80,000 titles in its catalog, and a further 20,000 through partner sites in France and Germany.Amazon began reselling Audible&#39;s content in 2000, and since 2002, Audible has also distributed audio books through Apple&#39;s iTunes Store, when it became Apple&#39;s exclusive supplier of spoken-word content. Apple modified the software in its iPods to allow &quot;bookmarking&quot; of Audible audio files.This chapter in the battle for listeners may yet have a happy ending for Apple, as the Audible team plans to continue and grow its relationship with the iTunes Store, according to Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener. But that goes for Audible&#39;s many other channel partnerships too: &quot;We plan to continue and grow all these relationships,&quot; Herdener said.Apple declined to comment on the deal.The main battle front between Apple and Amazon remains the sale of digital music free of the restrictions imposed by DRM (digital rights management) systems, where Amazon has been competing with Apple in the U.S. since September.When Apple opened its iTunes Store, the music it sold was wrapped in a layer of DRM to prevent copying, which incidentally tied the music to Apple&#39;s iPod players and iTunes software.Some record companies were unhappy that Apple limited the sales to its players in this way, and last May&#160;Apple began offering tracks from EMI without DRM&#160;for a small premium, later bringing the price down to the same $0.99 it charges for other tracks with DRM.&#160;Amazon joined the fray&#160;in September, selling music from EMI and Universal in MP3 format, without DRM,&#160;adding tracks from Warner to its catalog&#160;in December. It now offers 2.9 million DRM-free tracks, compared to 2 million DRM-free tracks in Apple&#39;s iTunes Store. Apple offers millions more tracks with DRM.Audible&#39;s audio books are wrapped in a layer of DRM, which Amazon does not plan to remove unless customers start to complain, Herdener said.&quot;Each media marketplace has its own business dynamics,&quot; he said.Amazon recently moved into the electronic book market with the launch of its Kindle e-reader, a device for downloading and displaying electronic books. Kindle also plays audio files, including those sold by Audible, making it a (much bulkier) competitor to the iPod.The $300 million price tag for Audible includes the assumption of outstanding stock option obligations. The companies expect to close the deal by April.
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NBC Universal said yesterday it will sell episodes of its new fall television shows using Amazon's Unbox digital download service, after the network failed to reach an agreement with Apple Inc. last week to offer the shows on iTunes.
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NBC Universal will pull its television programming from iTunes in December after the two sides failed to reach an agreement regarding the pricing of its video downloads.
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Online retailer Amazon.com Inc has signed on Warner Music Group to its music download service, which aims to compete with Apple Inc's industry-dominating iTunes online store.
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While other networks are battling Apple over pricing for TV show downloads in the iTunes Store, CBS has announced that it will stick with iTunes.
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Apple escalated a dispute with NBC Universal over the pricing of television shows by announcing yesterday that it would not sell any of NBC's programs for the fall season on the iTunes online media store.
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NBC Universal has told Apple Inc. that it would not allow its television content to be sold on iTunes following a dispute over pricing.
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Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday it will buy online audiobook provider Audible Inc. to expand its reach in digital audio content.
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Amazon.com on Thursday unveiled a  widely anticipated Internet service offering movie and  television shows that can be downloaded onto consumers'  personal computers.
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NBC Sports said Thursday  that it has reached an extended deal to keep the Wimbledon  championships on its air for at least four more years.
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Hit television programming from A&E Network, The Biography and History Channels is now available for purchase and download on the iTunes Music Store. iTunes offers 200+ TV shows for $1.99 per episode for viewing on a computer or iPod.
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TV programming used to come in neat, fixed packages that ended on the hour or half-hour. But broadband Internet is changing those neat packages, and on Wednesday NBC Universal announced a new distribution format. Its news, entertainment, and sports programming now will be available for distribution via widgets.
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Amazon.com has signed on Warner Music Group to its music download service, which aims to compete with Appleâs industry-dominating iTunes online store.
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NEW YORK - NBC Universal is trying to find profitable ways to make its TV programs available online after discontinuing sales of new shows on Apple Inc.'s iTunes, chief executive Jeffrey Zucker said.