Fuck'em

.

Hmmm, would I rather watch "The Office" on my 61" TV for free, or should I buy the episode for $2.99 so I can watch it on my 2" iPOD? I never understood that.

Needless to say: Fuck the RIAA.

I wonder how they they are going to implament this. Firmware updates that will block the iPod from playing non iTunes Music Store mp3s. I think apple would rather say "Fuck you" to NBC than to allow that piece of shit.

Fuck the RIAA

So the copy on my TiVO is ok, but downloading a copy is not.

>.<

yeah, good luck with that.

i'm not buying any tv shows from itunes until i can get all of futurama for about $50

@JBKing:
Or, you could pay $299 and buy an apple tv in order to download and pay for tv episodes that you could otherwise record for free.

$2.99 for a TV show x 23 episodes = $69

I would pay less for the TV series on DVD and in much better quality so NBC is getting MORE than the value they have set for the shows.

@David Hildreth: The copy on your TiVO is coming from the source, it's not coming from someone who put it online and is giving it to potentially millions of people, at no cost given to NBC.

I understand where they're coming from, but 99.99999% not likely that Apple will go along with them.

How in the world do they expect a program to be able to tell the difference between pirated music and music ripped off of a legally bought CD? It is impossible. The only solution would be to only allow iTunes music on iPods. Then iPod sales will drop faster then a paperweight pretending to be a balloon.

Exactly how can they tell what is pirated and what isn't? If I load on a "pirated" copy of an album or movie, there is no way to tell what is or isn't pirated.

"We'll go back on iTunes, provided they can make pigs fly. We are harmed financially every day by pigs not being able to fly..."

Unless they can find a way to block user-generated content (which they can't), this idea is sunk in the water.

@JohnOB1: I agree, when are mad genetic scientists going to create pigs that can achieve flight?

poop... that is all.

I second Buchanan's assertion that turning iTunes into a gatekeeper would KILL iPod sales.

Let's face it, most of us have a significant amount of pirated content on our hard drives, and if iTunes 8.0 somehow wouldn't allow us to load those files, then yeah you'd see a flood of used iPod Touch(es) hit ebay for $99.

Hmm, torrent + zen = win I suppose. Now if only people would make more stuff with zen docks.

Come on folks - think about it. If Apple added just a bit of code to keep pirated movies and music from being played or loaded onto an iPod it would be a GREAT thing. I think we all should write Jobs and request that feature for the next version of iTunes. Next we'll have to convince Demonoid and his cohorts to put PIRATED on the comment line of each song and video. Oops, that probably won't work, huh?

Yeah, uh NBC wankers, just how is iTunes supposed to tell a legit track from a pirated one? Looks like we got another case of Hollywood stupidity here. Walk along folks, there's nothing to see.

dear ncb/universal - i would like to pay you for your product, in fact i was paying for it. gladly until you pulled the plug. hulu does not allow me to watch in my living room, nor do any of the other web solutions. i do not have cable or an antennae - you have effectively cut me off from the only legal means with which to watch the product you don't want pirated.

it's a confusing message to an honest consumer.

I had the pleasure of working at NBC for a little over a year; it was actually a good job, I liked it there. I quickly learned though, that the corporate culture of GE is so deeply ingrained in their processes that they treat creative content the same as they do alloy plated coupling devices - Efficiency, Cost Cutting, Profit Margins.

Their ecosystem is not rocking - it's polluted like the rivers by their old NY factories.

Well this is never going to happen but it's a scary idea nonetheless. But it wouldn't affect me because I don't own or use any Apple products. I don't know why iPod's are so popular when you're tied to iTunes on your own computer.

i want to see more porn backed riaa style.. oh fuck no i don't.. it'd be me vs Gage.. "he watched my butt get plugged for free your honor" "i did not!" fap fap fap

Fuck dude I would never have seen 30 rock, The Office, Heroes, or Battlestar if it wasnt for iTunes. What does it cost NBC to distribute them online vs money they would be making? Shit I should just wait until they go on sale for $19.99 a season at Best Buy and rip them myself if they want to be dicks about it. And please, peanut gallery, don't say "just torrent the episodes". Some people get off on being legal about obtaining their media.

While i agree with many points here, i would like to note that there are many different ways in which to "watermark" content. A studio could digitall water mark all of their DVDs, and even after you rip it and convert it, even several times, and there is no way to remove it because it actually exists in the luminance chanell of the video, they suspect that itunes could reject your video after reading the watermak....it is very very very real future, so get ready. it might night be NBC's content getting flagged by itunes, but very soon you will see content being digitally watermarked and having some reception system in place.

I hope this happens, it'll give some other mp3 players on the market a chance, 'cause everyone will either abandon Ipods or Itunes, which means the product won't stick around for long. (Zune, sansa, etc.)

and for all of your jumpers...i am not talking about a watermark you can actually see....it is hidden to the naked eye.

All part of NBC's plan to make sure that no one ever watches any of their shows ever again.

@Sam_Zebian: You hope this happens? Are you that much of an Apple hater or are you just high??

and the fact that this is even being discussed is why i own a cowon and a n800, and no ipod.

Whoa. Scary. I don't think I'd like for anyone to filter what content i can and can't put on a device that I paid a good amount of money for.

just not update the firmware to piss them off .. haha

Way to prove this only hurts the law-abiding.

lulz. do these companies even know how pirating works? Let me fill them in. I buy the latest hit band's cd. I copy the music to my computer, hey I'll even use iTunes to do this. Next, I'll get the coverart, maybe make a wmp playlist to go with it, then post it on a bit torrent website. People them download the files from me, which are exact rips from an authentic purchased cd, and they're saved on their own computer. When they're done, they load em into iTunes, and there's NO WAY TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MY ORIGINAL COPY AND THEIR PIRATED COPY.

I don't think NBC is on a position to make demands now, there time has come & gone. Apple don't even have to talk to them anymore cause they have Andrea Jung onboard & as you might know she sits on GE board of directors the parent company of NBC. why bother taking to a CEO when they can now talk straight with the source

They can suck it! Come on China, show them how it's done...

@QAdam:

Wow, a digital watermark! No one will EVER crack that!

Last year I had cable and one of my favorite shows was Top Chef. To save money I got rid of cable thinking I could just spend $10 a month on a few shows in iTunes. Rather pay $10 for the shows I really care about than $60 for 200 channels and still only watch 2 or 3 shows.

So,I see the ads for the new season of TC and I open itunes to buy the first episode. Oh,nope...Bravo is part of NBC and all NBC stations are gone from itunes.

I was all excited to pay $2 for TC and sit on my comfy chair and watch it on my ipod.

I can't do that.

I'm glad the folks at NBC are so on top of things.

LMAO good luck with that one.

NBC board - fuckwits extraordinaire!

I think in a few years from now they'll see dropping itunes as one of their dumbassiest corporate decisions of all time .... Hell, Dave Letterman sussed them out years ago and look how they lost him.

How would they be able to tell if something is pirated or not... if something has said "watermark" that is matched though itunes or something, then if someone was to put a copy of the movie with a watermark up for a torrent, the people who download a copy will have the watermark in their file also. Plus would they end up blocking a CD that has been burnt? because me and my friends do alot of mix tape sharing with music wich we BUY at a STORE and share with eachother..If this happens you will see my ipod touch (16gb) on ebay!

See, the problem is that WE all know this sucks. The only way to get non geeks to know this sucks is if it really happens. So, let's all hope it happens.

They wanna sell DRM free music on amazon & across the web so it can be Pirated & then they want apple to clean their mess???? LOL, good luck getting that to work. itunes was the best thing that happen to all these label but then it seems they all got dumb with this DRM free junk. I love DRM, if i could DRM all my music i would, i don't like the idea of paying $12 for a CD & then lending it to my freeloader friends so they can copy it at my expense, if i pay for it so should you

@astrocramp: Sweet! How do I legally record TV shows for free?

@Stompn_Tom: Episodes are actually $1.99 and iTunes frequently offers full seasons at a discounted rate.

@dashielm: Ditto.

The SECOND this happens, every single person with an iPod switches to WinAmp. Mark my words.

@Sam_Zebian:

You can't be serious.

I suspect you don't like ipods just because they are popular.

And, last but not least: I seriously have no clue what NBC is thinking. There is absolutely no way that Apple will ever filter the content that goes on their devices, just as there is no way NBC can stop being greedy.

...they do know they look like the bad guys, right?

One more thing:

@notatoad: Your statement makes no sense. What does NBC's stupidity have to do with Apple?

@redpeppers20xx: Once upon a time I went OTA HD with an EyeTV 500 and iTunes for everything else. In the long run I saved a lot of money. I also watched a lot less TV and was riding my bike 15 - 20 miles a day. Those were the days...

not having their stuff on iTunes is just going to make people pirate it more. idiots.

Yeah, anyone who actually supports this is a moron.

NBC's like that bitchy golddigger that walked out on you for not giving her more money, and is now trying to call the shots from her new flat while she fucks other men.

"Sorry bitch, mah soul ain't fo' salez." *CLICK*

I used to work for NBC as part of their IT department. Stuff like this doesn't surprise me in the least - GE is attempting to squeeze any kind of profit out of them by micromanaging them into the ground. To give an example, they have two people on their helpdesk who are full time NBC/GE employees - the rest are all contracted to two firms, both of which are partly owned by GE. Instead of paying these people all the same, the full-time employees are paid at industry rates, while the rest are paid 1/3 industry rates and are denied any GE benefits or perks. Supposedly it saves money, but it also results in heavy turnover, shitty morale and a lot (not all - some very good people in there) low quality workers. Oh, and you can't "get your foot in the door" - anyone hired as a contractor needs to wait between 6 months and a year before they're allowed to apply for an NBC or GE job. No amount of good work can get you pulled in, either.

Thankfully, I got out. I pity those I left behind.

@media_lush: Dave Letterman sussed them out years ago and look how they lost him.

I agree in spirit, but unfortunately (and unaccountably) Leno's been winning the ratings race for years.

Bugger off, NBC.

No Battlestar Galactica on iTunes this season? Fine. More of my money stays in my pocket.

You lose.

won't happen cause one can't tell from a pirated track of music to one that came from someone's legit CD and loaded to their comps. so the only way this can happen is if they block all non itune DRM media...can we say bye bye ipod. I know I'd sell mine.

Not buying any contents from NBC!! They are just as bad as the RIAA!!

@Stompn_Tom:

Yep. And then I can rip it with DVD decrypter, convert it with Super converter and have the shows on my iPod or Zune (which I prefer) for free. This is getting ridiculous, cartels.

Color me confused. I went to NBC's hulu site* and watched the stuff for free.. And if it says you can't watch something again, clear yer cookies. ;)

*ashamed of providing them a free ad.

@superduperm: I think someone forgot that if the RIAA and the Media Industry in general had their way ripping that cd you "own" to mp3 would be illegal (which, I think they already claim is illegal).

Screw the RIAA and APPLE (until they start letting consumers OWN their devices). Cowon FTW (they'll get better).

Fuck NBC. These are the pricks that cancel shows like Journeyman to bring us the crpafest that is Knight-Rider.

I can guarantee you this asshole is over 40, has limited technological experience and is speaking out of ignorance. Yet hes the fucking PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION.

He, deuchebag, how exactly are you making ANY money now that NO ONES buying your shit? 1.99 for a TV show? Thats a LOT of coin for shit quality and people were doing it cuz its EASY!

FUCK YOU.