NEW YORK, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Computer giant Apple's new network appliance, "Apple TV," has created a rift in the industry among networks that will or won't participate, TV executives said.
At the center of the debate is Apple's 99-cent model for its new digital-rental service, which some networks say "devalues" their content, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"The 99-cent rental is not a good price point," Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said this week at a media conference in New York. "It doesn't work for us. We value our content a lot. We don't think Apple has it quite right yet."
NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker agreed, saying Apple's rental service "devalues" content.
But not everyone feels the same way. ABC and Fox have agreed to provide content to Apple, if only on a trial basis.
Robert Iger, president and chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, said, "We made a decision five years ago -- actually when I got this job -- that we would be much better off aligning with technology companies than fighting them. We concluded then -- and we would reach the same conclusion today -- that you can't will technology away. It is real. It's here."
Apple CEO Steve Jobs is Disney's largest shareholder.
