NBC Goes from iTunes to Unbox

In a predictable move after the network’s recent squabble with Apple, NBC has announced that shows from its Fall television lineup will be available for sale on Unbox, Amazon’s digital video download service.

Hit series like “The Office”, “Battlestar Galactica” and “Heroes,” which along with other NBC content previously accounted for nearly 40 percent of iTunes video downloads, will be available for purchase by Unbox users beginning September 10.

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NBC’s beef with Apple, that ended the network’s agreement to sell its shows on iTunes, was allegedly over pricing, the ability to bundle content, and piracy controls, though episodes of “The Office” on Unbox

still curiously only costs a cool $1.99.

In what’s soon to turn into an arms race for content in the paid video download space, Amazon obviously made itself a sweet deal that could push it ahead of the competition. Unbox saw its main competitor lose nearly 40 percent of its downloads, and picked up a huge handful of new customers all in just a little longer than a holiday weekend.

Of course, Unbox won’t see ALL of those downloads that used to belong to iTunes because the service only works with Tivos and PCs. Hopefully this is a problem that Amazon will soon rectify. Content might be king, but if I can’t feel the ever-tightening tension between  Jim and Pam from my MacBook, I’ll be forced to find my content outside of the Unbox kingdom.