NBC Announces Own Download Service

After pulling the plug on its collaboration with iTunes (read more about it here), NBC has announced its own download service. The company is going to start testing a new NBC Direct service in October with full, free downloadable episodes which can be stored up to seven days on PCs.

ABC and BBC already have similar systems in place where users can download and keep TV series' episodes for a stipulated period of time. There's no news yet whether they'll be available for Mac and Linux.

The episodes will be available for free download immediately after they have been aired on NBC and will come with embedded advertisements - unskippable embedded advertisements, I might add. The idea is to eventually make its service a full-blown iTunes competitor.

NBC's Jeff Gaspin went on the record to say that they "did this to eliminate the middleman".

NBC says that in due course of time, it will upgrade this service to a pay-to-download service without ads or term stipulations, although DRM-related stuff would stick.

We wonder how long it will take the prodigious few among us to break through and upload these series free of any restrictions whatsoever.