NBC Shows Disappearing from iTunes

Network, Apple can't agree on pricing

Fans of "Heroes" or "The Office" will have one fewer catching-up option if they miss an episode of either show this season.

Apple will no longer offer new episodes of NBC shows on its iTunes service when the 2007-08 season starts after failing to reach an agreement with NBC over pricing. The network's iTunes contract expires in December, but since that falls in the middle of the TV season, Apple opted to stop offering new episodes when the season starts in a few weeks.

Episodes of NBC shows already on the download service will be available until the contract runs out. NBC had three of the top 10 shows on iTunes last season and was responsible for 30 percent of TV downloads from the service.

"We are disappointed to see NBC leave iTunes because we would not agree to their dramatic price increase," Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes, says in a statement. "We hope they will change their minds."

According to Apple, it declined to pay "more than double the wholesale price" per episode of NBC shows, which it said would have increased the download fee by $3, from $1.99 to $4.99. NBC, meanwhile, has been angling for the right to package some of its titles for somewhat higher prices, The New York Times reports.

The other broadcast networks, along with several dozen cable channels, still have deals with iTunes.