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NBC to offer free video downloads
Author: Phil CogarPublished: 20th September 2007
The Office is just one of a handful of shows that NBC Universal will be offering for free through NBC Direct.
Set to launch in November after a testing phase in October, NBC will allow users to download a copy of their favourite TV shows directly to their PC (sorry Mac fans but you'll have to wait until some time next year) through a new service called NBC Direct. The files will be deleted after the seven-day period. If you're wanting to take it on the road with you, well you're out of luck as the files will not be transferable.
As a way of making the service free, there will be commercials included in the video file. But unlike on DVR and VCR systems, you won't be able to fast forward through them. This could be a draw backfor some but many are likely to just ignore them like they do during a normal broadcasts anyway.
Currently, NBC offers commercial-free video streams of current episodes on its website if you don't mind watching it in your web browser.
If this service becomes popular, NBC plans to expand it around the middle of 2008 by offering a payment platform. The second phase will allow customers to keep episodes indefinitely if they choose to pay for them. The episodes would also me made available to transfer to any device you choose and will not contain any commercials. There's also no word yet though as to whether the downloads will be IP-specific for States-side only.
All of this is great news, as it gives more options to consumers who are constantly on the go. But with today's demanding society, many might not want to sit through commercials. Are you one of that bunch or are you happy to have more, legal ways to watch Heroes or The Office? Let us know over in the forums or in the comment section below.
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Comments (19)
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And how are they going to make this happen?
Built in advertising = free
No advertising = pay
shame about the 7 day limit, but hey! it's free, so at least it's one step in the right direction
Sam
nothing a stream ripper cant fix....
But... is there any point in doing that when the internet will already have the shows available, probably in better quality, right after they air and in standardised formats.
Yeah, but that illegal and the NBC are offering the legal way.
Its a shame we wont see it and if only Channel 4 would not charge for its timed downloads.
it would be almost perfect if it did not auto destruct...
I was referring to striping the download from NBC of it's DRM... which is also illegal...
It's possible to strip it of the DRM, but it's pointless to do this as for less trouble you can download a better quality version without the DRM in the first place.
Funnily enough the fact that people who want to obtain it illegally won't even bother to get it direct from NBC makes the DRM on it doubly pointless.
Well technically it's against the DMCA, but why is it that downloading stuff is any more illegal than taping it off TV, oh, or better yet, changing the channel and not watching commercials is like stealing TV!
You're preaching to the choir here buddy... I was merely saying that if it's illegal to strip the drm.. then why not just download a proper video from torrent sites.
It's an interesting idea, but they completely fail at understanding why people buy online. If you can't archive it, and you can't watch it on the go, why bother?
Great, then all we have to do is pay NBC, then CBS, then Fox, Napster, Rhapsody, etc... and you can watch or listen to anything you want, when you want.
Of course you will be broke and not be able to afford a computer to watch it on, but hey, it is there for you to watch what you want, when they allow you to, when the sever is up, traffic is low, your internet works, and...
I really don't see how they "don't get it." By cutting out the middle man prices should remain around the same area that they currently are. More then likely though, we'll see a slight increase in the price of the shows from what they are right now.
The paid for episodes (that won't be available until next year) will be transferable to any device that you want. It's only the free versions that will degrade (yes degrade, they will not self delete) after seven days. If you don't like it then you're probably already downloading the shows from torrent sites or other P2P clients. I don't watch much TV mainly because I rarely have the time to sit down and watch something that is on a schedule but I rent/buy seasons of shows on DVD.
Allowing a consumer to download for free and forcing them to watch commercials to supplement the income really isn't that bad. You guys are bitching over nothing.
And to answer the question as to why companies go after downloaded TV shows so often: Seasons on DVD. It's really not that hard to understand and if you were in their shoes, you'd be trying to protect your IP as well.