NBC might have good reasons
Published 3 September 2007
Hi! You've stumbled upon a blog post by a guy named Ryan. I'm not that guy anymore, but I've left his posts around because cool URIs don't change and to remind me how much I've learned and grown over time.
Ryan was a well-meaning but naïve and priviledged person. His views don't necessarily represent the views of anyone.
After reading Jeremy Horwitz Open Letter this morning, I completely understand his frustration. I don't own a TV, but I have a bordering-on-unhealthy obsession with Law & Order. I do, however think he's being a bit dense.
Horwitz writes:
The per-episode price people are accustomed to paying for what you show on television is “zero,” or something very close to it. Most people are also not so addicted to what you are producing that they would suddenly start paying for it if you stopped offering it for free.
and
If for some crazy, misguided reason you ultimately pull out of iTunes or try to raise your prices beyond today’s level … I’m going to stop paying money for any of your shows … My PVR works wonderfully, so I’ll just record for free anything that vaguely interests me, and show others how to do the same. I’ve been on the fine edge of greater PVR interest for the past couple of years, but the iTunes Store has mostly staved that off.
Horwitz forgets that all of the shows recorded with Tivo are being subsidized with commercials. NBC doesn't care when or where you watch them, just that you watch them with commercials. I imagine the breakdown works like this:
- Episode of Law & Order: SVU with prime time commercials: \$5 per episode per person.
- Episode of Law & Order: SVU downloaded from iTunes: \$1.50 (after paying apple) per episode per person.
John Gruber points out that the established price of TV shows is about \$2 each based on the cost of DVD sets. What he forgets though is that iTunes sales usually replace TV watching, while DVD sets come out long after the season ends.
It's entirely possible that the decision is largely based on scared luddites who have no idea how the Internet works, but my guess is that it's largely a function of this growing (and worse) revenue stream replacing their dying (but more profitable) one.
Any suggestions on how to get my crime fix would be greatly appreciated.