NBC.com today announced the launch of its new service, “NBC Direct,” which will allow users to download and view NBC’s primetime and late-night entertainment programming on their desktops for up to one week after broadcast. The announcement was made by Vivi Zigler, Executive Vice President, NBC Digital Entertainment.
“With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consumer their favorite entertainment,” said Zigler in the press release. “Not only does this feature give them more control, but it also gives them a higher quality video experience.”
Mac users ignored
The first version of this new feature, which will begin beta testing in October, will allow users to download full length episodes for viewing on Windows based PCs. Each original episode will be licensed to users for viewing through “NBC Direct” for one week following broadcast and will then expire. The downloaded file will provide users with an improved overall viewing experience compared to traditional streaming video. The list of programs available at launch will include “Heroes,” “The Office,” “Life,” “Bionic Woman,” “30 Rock,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
NBC: “Must DRM TV”
Later in the beta launch, users will be provided the free subscription option that will allow them to pre-select their favorite NBC programs they want to watch. Those shows will be automatically delivered to their computers as soon as they are available after the original broadcast. The downloadable player will also have filtering technology, which will prevent it from playing any stolen copyrighted material.
Future Mac support promised
Future versions of “NBC Direct,” which will roll out over the next several months, will provide expanded platform functionality and will allow DRM (“digital rights management”) protected versions of its programs to be downloaded to Macs and portable devices in addition to PCs. NBC.com plans future enhancements such as high-resolution versions of programming made available via a closed P2P (“peer to peer”) distribution network. Using closed P2P will ensure that the maximum number of users will be able to view consistent, high-quality content directly from their desktops. Later in 2008, NBC.com plans to offer other business models for downloaded content in order to provide its users multiple options to consume their NBC programs. These paid business models may include download-to-own, rental and subscription.
Visiting NBC Universal’s site with an Apple Mac currently generates the error message that reads, in part, “We’re Sorry the requested download is unavailable. Downloads are only available to users located in the United States that have a Microsoft operating system and Internet Explorer web browser.”
MacDailyNews Note: NBC shows currently remain on Apple’s iTunes Store pending the results of ongoing, publicly-contentious negotiations.
Pbbbbt.
and they’ll ignore the Mac world. I doubt it.
My email:
Hi, I have a Mac, Running Safari.. Do you plan on supporting the Mac platform with your new interface?
ABC.com which uses flash I believe works A-OK
Please advise as I would like to watch the shows without having to pay for them!, and although I work in a PC store, I WOULD NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS RELY ON WINDOWS FOR ANYTHING EVER AGAIN! Only complete nincompoops are still on the doze platform. <– Period.
–
xxx@xxx.com
Sounds dull. Watching on your PC? Expires in a week? Not transferable to a portable player? How does this give consumers more control? How is this better than, say, TiVo? Or even a VCR, for that matter?
my post made no sense. sorry.
DUH!! MSNBC!!!!
The MS stands for Microsoft. C’mon people, does this surprise anyone?
I’m trying to care…no, really.
Narcissistic Butt Cheetahs
My posts usually make no sense. But no apology.
But MSNBC has Erin Burnett…mmmm…yummy
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But I don’t want to watch stuff on my Computer. When I’m at home, I want to watch things on my TV.
When I’m on a plane, train or bus I want to watch tiny pictures on my Pod.
But when I’m home, my TV.
How hard is that to understand? Just because I can, doesn’t mean I want to watch programming on my smallest screen.
Seriously, is NBC just STUPID?
I don’t watch any NBC shows, so I don’t give a rat’s ass what they do with ’em – shove ’em up their @#%#$% for all I care.
Microsoft has nothing to do with msnbc anymore….
Good for NBC, shame I use a Mac really :S
Stop assuming that if they don’t work with Apple, they will fail. Let them try this new service out for themselves, and if it works, good for them, if it doesn’t, oh well, back to the old drawing board.
The only way to find out is to try and that is what business is all about. Trying!
Yah, so how do you watch this content on your TV?
Silliness at its finest.
You said, “Seriously, is NBC just STUPID?”
YES, and greedy too.
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May they suffer lost money, lost ratings, and die in disgrace.
en
It’s hard to judge this based on it’s current state.
What quality will the videos have, how obnoxious will the advertising be, how long will a download take, how soon will Mac support be coming, what about the 3 or 4 people using linux?
I do think this is an interesting step for any network. Windows only support at first makes sense, don’t forget windows 90% market share.
Looks like we all know why NBC didnt renew the dead with iTunes now.
They had a hidden agenda for months while they were working on this.
They came to the negitiating table delibrately to get out of the contrace with Apple by demanding a really high price hike on tv shows on iTunes.
Looks like Apple played into their hands – shame the store will fail abismally.
WANKERS.
There’s a few things the ol’ Hammer has a problem with.
1) I don’t watch TV on my computer… ever.
and
2) Fairplay has no subscription component yet… so even if NBC wanted to do this with Macs… they can’t.
So it’s a little of both… Steve is unwilling to do any kind of rental of media — which I sort of have a problem with… mainly in regards to movies, which a rental program would rock with AppleTV — think about this… $15 a month and you have two movies downloaded at a time, you watch one, then the next one is downloaded on demand. I’d do that.
To be honest – I dont want this crap accessable by macs – I dont want 20mins of adverts everytime I wana see a tv show I downloaded.
Leave this crap for the windows sheep.
Well, this is just sad. Why the need for this abrupt change? I was able to visit NBC’s website and watch – with ads – shows I may have missed, usually during the length of the season. I could do so at home, or with my laptop away from home. I don’t understand why they think they’re really changing anything – other than to limit access to Apple products. Payback, a snubb of the nose to Jobs? They hurt not only me, the consumer, but their shareholders as well. Because if the fails to meet or exceed the income provided through iTunes they are in an even weaker bargaining procedure! This is something they should have tried without changing the current model: Success would have then provided for the change.
Trial and error is a part of business. And apparently, so is stupidity.
I am really hurt by this because I do watch NBC shows, am sometimes unable to record them, and enjoy the ability to purchase through iTunes or watch – again, with ads – the shows via their old website.
Their association with Microsoft obviously infected their decision-making process!
See ya’
Everything else about NBC is mired deep in the 20th century. Why should online services be any different?
MDN magic word=radio
The last medium, incidentally, in which NBC dominated.
OK, the pool is now OPEN. How long do you think it will be before NBC kills this site??
I think that it will run OK for about 3-6 months before people get sick of all the ad crap. With in 14 months, it will be killed. Just my thoughts. Its possible that it will die sooner if NBC loses enough money earlier.
PS, I tried the “free” Netflix” movie thing. the downloads were so jerky and disjointed, that I gave up after two tries. I have fast access and a pretty new machine but the programs just did not work. 🙁
Its the UI, stupid!!! 🙁
en
well, here I am in in Safari > Windows XP via Boot Camp on my iMac. I wanted to get first hand of this new NBC venture.
My opinion is, don’t hold your breath folks. It’s a sloppy mess to deal with. NBC just doesn’t get it — SIMPLICITY. People want to find content easy and fast. They just don’t get it and this NBC direct garbage is just that..JUNK.
ok, back to my OS X operating system…..START > TURN OFF COMPUTER
I don’t think they’ll ignore the Mac market in the long run – after all, what better way to get at Apple than to get Mac users actually using their site? Oops, did I say that out loud.
The heck with NBC. Last year, I watched every episode of Heroes and Earl through iTunes. This year, I’ll go without.
I know it has been said here already, but it is very simple:
• At home I want to watch shows on my TV. I have small children and can’t watch Heroes in front of them-but I don’t want to pay extra for TiVo.
• On the road I want to watch them on my iPod.
• I want to keep the shows for longer than a week so I can watch them later–if I feel like it.
• I want control of the time and way I view media. NBC claims to understand this but still restricts me.
• Put your content back on iTunes so I can buy it-just don’t overcharge me for it. That way I can put it on my Apple TV and my iPod.
Honestly, if NBC feels they are not getting enough revenue from iTunes sales, and Steve Jobs doesn’t want to increase the price of shows–why not find another way to increase revenue? How about some kind of advertiesement you have to watch to download the show? Like Pod cast ads or a banner on the download screen. You know: “Heroes, brought to you by Huggies.”
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