Earlier this month, on the heels of General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Networks' decision to pull its shows from Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes store, Douglas McIntyre hypothesized on whether other networks would follow suit. (Meanwhile, NBC Universal and iTunes are reportedly still in talks. NBC Universal is responsible for about 40% of all television content currently available on iTunes). Late last week, Apple was offered tentative validation of its relationship with News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) FOX Broadcasting Network and FOX Filmed Entertainment movie distribution unit. Reuters reported that Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of News Corp., told the U.K.'s Royal Television Society: "We have a pretty limited relationship with Apple and we'll see how it goes ... I assume [future negotiations] will be prickly and dicey and contentious like all negotiations are."
Another report on MacNN.com quoted Chernin as asserting "we're the ones who should determine what the fair price for our product is, not Apple." Some TV shows, currently airing on the FOX Network, have been licensed to iTunes (including Prison Break, 24, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader), but movies have not. And while the network would like a hand in the pricing, it isn't planning on pulling its shows from iTunes anytime soon. According to sources close to the matter, News Corp will not have the opportunity to renegotiate with Apple in the foreseeable future.
Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
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