No, the fallout from the NBC vs. iTunes kerfuffle [0] isn't over yet. Here's the latest: NBC will offer episode downloads free from NBC.com [1] starting in October. Yup, I said "free."
There are a few caveats, though:
- The video will only work for a week after the episodes are broadcast.
- Only a limited number of shows will be available at the start, but at least they're generally good ones: "Heroes," "The Office," "Life," "Bionic Woman," "30 Rock," "Friday Night Lights," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
- The content won't be available to Mac users (um, take that, Apple?)
After an initial trial run, NBC plans to upgrade the service with the option to subscribe to favorite shows — and, yes, to make the episodes available on Macs, too.
It seems like this should be a good temporary solution — except for people who have Macs or want to own episodes, that is. But at least there's a way for a lot of people without DVRs to watch both "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Office" now, and that's a good thing ... right? Can you see yourself using this service?