NBC, Apple Squabble Over iTunes

If you miss an episode of NBC's Heroes or The Office, you won't be able to catch it on iTunes.

General Electric(GE Quote - Cramer on GE - Stock Picks), the parent company of NBC, decided not to renew its contract to sell television shows on Apple's (AAPL Quote - Cramer on AAPL - Stock Picks) iTunes after a disagreement over pricing.

The current contract runs through December, but Apple said Friday it won't sell NBC TV shows for the upcoming season beginning in September.

In a press release, Apple claimed that NBC sought wholesale price increases that would have resulted in customers being charged $4.99 for one television episode. Currently, television shows cost $1.99.

NBC shows accounted for 30% of iTunes' TV revenue last season and provided the service with three of its top 10 shows. Still, the company has agreements to sell shows from the three other major TV networks -- CBS(CBS Quote - Cramer on CBS - Stock Picks), News Corp.'s (NWS Quote - Cramer on NWS - Stock Picks) Fox and Disney's (DIS Quote - Cramer on DIS - Stock Picks) ABC -- as well as 50 cable channels.

Shares of Apple recently were up $1.78, or 1.3%, to $138.03. GE shares were up 45 cents, or 1.2%, to $38.85.