iTunes faces new competition and loss of NBC Universal

Sony might have given up on its Connect music download service, but the war with Apple’s iTunes is far from over: according to a report in the Wall Street Journal the Japanese electronics giant plans to launch its own video download service to compete head-on with iTunes.

Although the company has as yet released no details, it can be assumed that Sony will use its existing products with online connectivity, such as PlayStation 3 and PSP, to be part of the game plan, as will be the new new Bravia Internet Video Link (see our story here). This new device will also compete with Apple TV.

Earlier this week, NBC Universal said it would no longer sell its programmes via the iTunes store. Although the agreement would terminate at the end of this year, Apple responded by removing all NBC material from the shop. According to Apple, NBC wanted to increase its prices for individual episodes of the programmes on sale.

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