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's  iTunes.
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Online retailer Amazon.com Inc said on  Thursday it reached a deal to buy digital audio books provider  Audible Inc for about $300 million, aiming to bolster its audio  download offerings.
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NBC Universal cuts new content partnership days after a rift emerges with Apple.
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NBC Universal said yesterday it would soon permit consumers to download many of NBC's most popular programs to personal computers and other devices - initially free of charge - for one week immediately after their broadcasts.
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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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The season premieres of seven Fox Broadcasting shows will be offered on Apple Inc.'s iTunes store for free in the latest example of TV networks using the Web to create interest in their shows.
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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 has decided against renewing its contract to sell digital downloads of television shows on Apple Inc's iTunes.
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NBC Universal, unable to come to an agreement with Apple on pricing, has decided not to renew its contract to sell digital downloads of television shows on iTunes.
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NBC Universal has decided not to renew  its contract to sell television shows on iTunes, becoming the  second major media company to challenge Apple Inc&#39;s dominance  in digital entertainment.
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NBC Universal said on Wednesday it  will offer episodes of some of its new prime-time shows for  free online viewing on personal computers in a bid to build an  audience for its fall schedule.
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AOL said Monday that it had reached an agreement with NBC to stream two of its new fall series to AOL users, the second time the network has turned to unconventional means to promote its shows.
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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.
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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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NBC Universal said on Wednesday it  will sell prime-time television shows like "The Office" and  "Heroes" on demand over cell phone networks in the United  States.
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The dispute between Apple and NBC Universal over the pricing of video on iTunes grew more heated as Apple announced it would not add any new NBC shows to the online storeâs inventory.
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Web retailer Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday it will buy online audio book seller Audible Inc. for $300 million in a bid to expand its reach in digital audio content.