NBC and Amazon

After a dispute with Apple over the pricing of television shows on iTunes , NBC Universal has agreed to sell a wide variety of shows on Amazons Unbox download service including Heroes and The Office.
Last week, NBC Universal became the first television and movie company to publicly challenge Apple’s pricing as too low, saying it would not renew its contract with iTunes without a change in its pricing
Unbox also gives consumers more options, including whether to rent a movie for $3.99 or buy a download for $14.99.
Amazon agreed to offer promotions, including a 30 percent discount when buying full seasons of television shows.
However Apple Apple sells episodes of television shows for a flat $1.99, with movies priced at $9.99.
Therefore the network makes little profit.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/business/media/05nbc.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

NBC at Present

For nearly two decades NBC had dominated Thursday nights, however this was set to change..
After both Friends and Frasier had finished in 2004, rival networks began to produce more hit shows i.e. CBS - CSI franchise, FOX - American Idol, ABC - Lost, Desperate Housewives and Greys Anatomy. This then led to NBC being ranked 4th as the most watched television network in the USA.

My Name is Earl - (2005 - Present) was the only show that debuted that fall surviving into a second season.
2006 - 2007






Heroes (2006 - Present) tells the story of several people who realized that they had incredible abilities. Heroes received the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years.


Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was a a highly anticipated comedy drama series starring Matthew Perry, however it failed to deliver high ratings and was consequently cancelled after only one season.

A new show for 2007 is the Bionic Woman - which is a new science fiction American drama starring British Actress Michelle Ryan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC
http://www.nbc.com/
http://www.nbcuni.com/

NBC currently generates $1.5 Billion in revenue from advertising sales

Television

President Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to appear on television on April 30, 1939 and was seen by about 1,000 viewers. The next day, May 1, four models of RCA television sets went on sale to the general public in various New York City department stores, which were promoted in a series of splashy newspaper ads.

Television began its rapid ascent into the American household. The World Series of 1947 featured two New York teams (Yankees and Dodgers) and local TV sales boomed, since the games were telecast in New York. The early 1950s brought massive success for NBC in the new medium, Also, the network launched Today and The Tonight Show, which would continue to broadcast for over fifty years..

Days of Our Lives was the first soap opera to premiere on colour television

The 1970s started strongly for NBC as they had a string of hits i.e. The Dean Martin Show, The Rockford Files, Quincy, M.E and The Wonderful World of Disney . However the majority of new shows did not run for a second season due to low ratings. In 1974 the network tried to aim its programmes at a younger audience however it was also the launch of successful programme Saturday Night Live.

When US President Jimmy Carter pulled the American team out of the 1980 Summer Olympics, NBC cancelled their planned 150 hours of coverage (which had cost them $87,000,000), and the network's future was in doubt. They had been counting on the expected $170,000,000 in advertising revenues to help them throughout the year and on the broadcasts to help promote fall shows.

Hill Street Blues was a Emmy winning serial police drama (1981 - 1987)
This show was rated poorly in the first season however it was never cancelled but the drama was moved to a Thursday night, which saw a dramatic increase in ratings

The A- Team ( 1983 - 1987) is an American action adventure television series - This was the networks biggest Hit of the Year.

The Cosby Show - (1984 - 1992) was an American Television Sitcom and a huge success, it led to the renewed interest in sitcoms. Cheers was another sitcom though it wasn't much of a success due to low ratings, however after the premiere of the Cosby Show, rating dramatically increased and it earned a top ten rating for the majority of its season.

In the 1988-1989 season, NBC won every week in the ratings for over a full year, an achievement not since duplicated. Two other shows which were popular during the year were Miami Vice and L.A Law

The 1990s

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990 - 1996) was a popular American television sitcom about a streetwise teenager (Will Smith) who is sent to live with wealthy relatives in a Bel Air mansion

Mad About You (1992 - 1999) was another American Sitcom. The series focused mainly on the newlyweds while they dealt with everything from humorous daily details to major struggles.

Frasier (1993 - 2004) was a spin-off from American sitcom Cheers (1982 - 1993).

ER (1994 - Present) is a serial medical drama which takes place at County General Hospital,Chicago,Illinois. ER is NBC's second longest running drama with 13 seasons making it the longest American prime time medical drama of all time.

Friends(1994 - 2004) is an American comedy based in New York City. The finale was one of the most watched series finales in television history, as it was watched by 51.1 Million viewers in the States.

Will & Grace(1998 - 2006) is an American sitcom which

focuses on a gay lawyer and his best friends Though it steadily gained popularity, after Friends had
finished Will and grace soon slipped out of the Top 20.

Scrubs (2001 - Present) is a comedy drama which focuses on the professional and personal lives of characters working at Sacred Heart. Though Scrubs is produced by rival network ABC it is aired on NBC

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center. It is sometimes referred to as the Peacock Network due to its stylized peacock logo.
The Founder of NBC: David Sarnoff
David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was a pioneer of American television and founder of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). He was known as “The General” because he ruled over the ever growing radio and Electronics Empire which then became one of the largest companies in the world.

The Owner of NBC: NBC Universal

NBC Universal is a media and entertainment company which was formed in May 2004 . The company develops, produces and markets entertainment, news, and information to a global customer base. NBC Universal owns and operates a United States television network, numerous cable networks, a group of local stations throughout the country, motion picture companies, a number of television production companies, and multiple theme parks.

Shows aired include Law and Order, American Dreams and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

General Electric
Is a multinational American technology and services corporation incorporated in the State of New York . General Electric currently has a joint venture with Vivendi called NBC Universal

NBC also has two radio networks: the red and blue networks .

The Red Network offers music and entertainment programming whilst the Blue Network carries out more un sponsored broadcasts i.e. news and cultural programmes. Both networks were launched in November 1926.

In 1940, due to an ongoing legal battle NBC was divided into two companies if in case NBC lost the case:The Blue network became the "NBC Blue Network, Inc." (now as ABC) and the NBC Red became "NBC Red Network, Inc." which was later known as NBC.

The entrance to the NBC Tower, New York

In 1975, NBC launched the NBC News and Information Service, which provided up to 55 minutes of news per hour.

In summer 1987, NBC Radio's network operations were sold to Westwood One, and the NBC-owned stations were sold to various buyers.

At about the same time Westwood One began to distribute a new service called NBC News Radio, consisting of brief news updates read by NBC News and MSNBC anchors and reporters.