I watched a live blog of the Apple announcement today and while the new iPod Nano and Touch were interesting I can't say they were exciting (I have an iPhone and a full fledged iPod).  What was interesting was the return of NBC/Universal shows to iTunes.

At first, I wasn't sure what to make of it all.  The issue behind the split had been a big one.  It was essentially the question of "who has the upper hand?" when it comes to the distribution of digital content.  Was it the content providers or the distributor of that content? 

Jobs, obviously reacting to the bitter nature of the split, offered nothing but the standard "we're happy to have them back" party line.  But eventually CNet broke the story of what happened...

To get TV shows from NBC Universal back on iTunes, Apple yielded to some demands on pricing and packaging made by the media conglomerate, NBC executives said Tuesday.

...

Examples of how NBC can set its own prices on some shows came after the event. NBC announced that it would offer some catalog titles for 99 cents rather than the traditional $1.99 that Apple charges for TV downloads.

JB Perrette, NBC's president of digital distribution, said in addition the company will be allowed to set its own prices on special packages. For example, NBC could elect to offer a best-of Heroes compilation at a price that might offer consumers a better value than buying individual shows for $1.99.

What this means for consumers, however, is that Apple is slowly losing control over pricing of video content at iTunes.

It's interesting what the past can teach us about the present if we bother to look.  If I had to bet on who would win this particular conflict I probably would have picked Apple.  Especially given the abysmal offerings coming out of their competitors.

(one of the side effects of this conflict is that I had the unpleasant experience of using Amazon Unbox, a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy)

But the irony here is I missed the similarities between this situation and the relationship content creators had with individual TV stations in the past.  Once upon a time there was some question as to what power networks had over the individual TV Stations who were part of their network (most NBC stations for example aren't owned by NBC).  The stations themselves thought they should have the power to schedule things as they see fit while the networks demanded they follow the scheduling dictates handed down by the network as a whole.

In the end the Networks won out and that's why CSI is on Thursday at 8pm (7pm Central) no matter where you go in the United States.

The same battle is playing out here but instead of scheduling issues the point of the dispute was pricing plans.  Once again it looks like the content creators have the upper hand.  In fact, if anything, they've become stronger.  Easier distribution via the web just weakens the role of the distributor.

I suspect the future will be very much a content creator's world with the distributors struggling to get what ever scraps they can.  Lets face facts, I doubt there will ever be a distributor with more power than Apple is now so if even they fell what hope do others that follow have?