From The Register

Less than a month after its very public breakup with Apple iTunes, NBC Universal has announced its own rights-restricting video download service.

With the new NBC Direct, due for beta testing sometime in October, you’ll have the power to download shows like “The Office” and “Heroes” immediately after they’re broadcast on national television – without paying a penny. But don’t get too excited. You can’t view these videos on more than one Windows PC. They’re riddled with commercials you can’t skip. And they self-destruct after seven days.

In announcing the service, Vivi Zigler, executive vice president of NBC digital entertainment, decided to make no sense whatsoever. “With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consumer their favorite entertainment,” he said. “Not only does this feature give them more control, but it also gives them a higher quality video experience.”

At the end of August, NBC informed Apple that it was not renewing its contract to sell “The Office,” “Heroes,” and other inane shows over iTunes. The contract wasn due to expire in December, but Apple threw a fit, saying it would pre-emptively axe NBC’s shows sometime this month.