• Reuters, Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:49 AM

Apple partner News Corp. responded to NBC Universal's decision not to renew its contract selling content via iTunes, agreeing that pricing should not be the sole province of the iPod maker. News Corp. has no plans to pull its movie and TV content from the Apple media store, but does want "more flexibility" when it comes to pricing its content.

The News Corp. stance runs contrary to what many industry watchers expected in the aftermath of NBC Universal's decision last month, especially since News Corp. is partnering with NBC in a new online video distribution venture, dubbed Hulu. Vivendi's music label, Universal Music Group, made a similar decision not to renew its iTunes contract earlier in the summer.

Separately, New Corp. says MySpace rival Facebook would not imminently be put up for sale, contrary to some reports that the burgeoning social network is exploring its options. Facebook, with 40 million-plus, still has less than half of MySpace's worldwide registered user base, although its content is considered "stickier." The media corp. denied suggestions that the two companies are considering a merger or partnership.

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