NBC.com sucks

I really like the show Heroes. But I just don't have the time or schedule to watch it when NBC decides to broadcast it. So last season, I subscribed to iTunes and watched the latest episodes when I had time, on the platform of my choosing, which happened to be an iPod, then an iPhobe. I paid Steve Jobs about $42. I assume NBC got some of that revenue.

This season, NBC seems to have decided they don't need iTunes. They've got their own media player. And the viewing is free. And it sucks. The player stutters -- on my brand new cable modem. Or it just doesn't load. One week it supports Safari, the next week it doesn't. It's enough to make a person stop watching Heroes. NBC has made the process so awful, so unreliable, that the content is no longer worth the price of admission.

Here's my favorite screen shot of NBC.com. I tried clicking on Technical Support.

Nice work, Zucker, Comstock, et al. Thank goodness there's BitTorrent.

I can't see how there's more money to be made by excluding iTunes in a distribution strategy. Knowing there's always a free alternative (i.e. P2P), why avoid people like me willing to shell out $42 for a reliable transmission? And while we're at it, what's the sense in a poorly developed web platform that routinely excludes Mac users? I've just told you I'll pay MORE for your content, if only you'd make it available on my terms.

Comments

[Yaffe]

Yeah, it was a good episode this week too. You know, just to add to your anger. LOL

Have you tried firefox, opera, IE or aol? I hate browser incompatibilty. Let's just say I've recently noticed my far share of stuff not being optimized for mac, and it's frustrating as all get out.

So anyway, Hiro was trying to do what he...

[Tim Brunelle]

Anyway, NBC.com was working again on Safari last night. So I caught up, after already grabbing the Torrent.

I will give NBC.com credit for offering a "full screen" mode, but the methodology for embedding commercial breaks is awful. The page reloads. You're forced to re-click the "full screen" tab after the spot. I can guess they've cut the video into pieces to improve streaming, but at a terrible price.

My point to NBC.com: You've got great content (Heroes). Why ruin this by A) walking away from paying subscribers on iTunes, and B) replacing iTunes with a sketchy, poorly coded proprietary player that does a disservice to both the content and the ads you force into the system?

[CK]

Thanks for giving me a recent example to hit my "brand barometer" home ;-) Hope you don't mind that I copied your text over at my place.

http://www.ck-blog.com/cks_blog/2007/11/all-hail-the-ne.html

[steve]

Amazing! It's 2009 and NBC's streaming STILL sucks!