NBC Direct has been with us now since last November, when it launched as a beta to offer a download service to those people who wanted to catch up with NBC shows.

Working in a similar way to the hugely popular BBC iPlayer, the service promised much but delivered little. And unfortunately, six months down the line that still seems to be the case.

Less Content Than Ever

Ars Technica decided the service was worth a second look now after NBC has had months to improve the process and system, and also add more content to the woefully small amount that was formerly available.

However, it seems that the service has got worse if anything, with less content available, DRM issues still rife, and problems getting the service up and running in the first place.

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It’s been well known for a while that many ISPs around the world have been messing with the flow of BitTorrent traffic in an effort to counter piracy.

It’s also been well known that amongst those ISPs, one of the worst culprits for blocking file sharing traffic is Comcast, one of the largest Internet Service Providers in the US.

However, until now, exact data as to how and when this was being done has been unavailable, and Comcast itself told the FCC in February that it was only done during periods of heavy network traffic.

A new Measuring Tool

Now, thanks to a tool developed by the Max Planck Institute, that data is now available, and the first statistics to be released show that Comcast actually blocks BitTorrent traffic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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A deal between HBO and Apple to get content on to iTunes has been rumoured for a few days now, but has finally been announced and already begun in a joint statement by both companies.

The deal sees some of the most popular HBO shows, including The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood and Rome, Flight of the Conchords and The Wire appear on iTunes from today.

Sex and the City Promo

The first show to become available through the service is Sex and the City, with all 94 episodes, or six seasons now open to purchase in anticipation of the movie version of the now cancelled show starring Sarah Jessica Parker coming out on May 30th.

None of the programmes will become available through iTunes until after they have been released on DVD, which is HBO’s way of protecting their home video profit.

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Each year during May, the television networks present their schedules to advertisers, a ritual which has become known as “Sweeps”.

The viewing figures during May determine the level of advertising revenue the networks can expect to get for the year ahead, and so all the big shows are débuted at this time.

However, this time there is a slight problem, as the sweeps have shown that prime time television in the States has lost six million viewers in a year.

Joint Reasons

There are two reasons for this, the first being the writers strike from the back end of last year and early this year which saw shows take an enforced hiatus and consequently made viewers make the switch to cable television and beyond.

However, the bigger and more important reason, is the increase of viewing options open to people now. From digital video recorders such as TiVo and on demand Web video, viewers now have more choice than ever before.

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Hot on the heels of the news that NBC are offering free full episodes of two of their biggest shows to iPhone and iPod Touch users, comes the news that live TV is now also a possibility.

Orb Networks claims to have “the world’s first way to stream live TV to the iPhone and iPod Touch.” The application is called Orb Live, and it will work on all jailbroken Apple iPhones and iPod Touches.

Users can get access to the app by installing it on a home PC, and OrbLive on their iPhone or iPod Touch. You then just set the PC to stream live TV and you can then stream the content to your device via Wi-Fi.

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NBC hates Apple, or at least iTunes. However, that doesn’t mean it hates iPhones, iPod Touches, or people who own these devices. If you need proof, then read on.

Despite having a major bust-up last year over NBC shows on iTunes, which resulted in NBC removing all of their content from Apple’s service, Alley Insider reports that they are now offering full episodes of two of their most popular shows on the iPhone.

DRM, Price & Advert Free

What’s more, they are available for free, without adverts, and in unprotected Quicktime format. Is this the same NBC that has tried to control pricing and DRM issues?

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Yesterday I reported how NBC has decided to get in to bed with Microsoft and offer individual episodes of its shows through the online Zune Store.

When NBC pulled all of its programming from Apple iTunes late last year after an argument with the iPod manufacturer, the two reasons cited for the falling out were pricing, and a lack of stringent filtering measures for pirated material.

The Coupling Becomes Clear

It didn’t immediately seem clear why NBC had now agreed to similar conditions from Microsoft when they wouldn’t accept them from Apple. However, after the New York Times spoke to J. B. Perrette, the president of digital distribution for NBC Universal, things may have become a little clearer.

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