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08:32 AAPL Apple Computer: Major League Baseball pulls podcast clips from Apple's iTunes - WSJ (77.61 )

WSJ reports the Internet arm of Major League Baseball has pulled podcast clips of its games from Apple Computer's iTunes Store, in a move to exercise greater control over how its games are presented online. Although the loss of the league's podcasts is unlikely to have a financial impact on Apple, it shows the unease some providers of digital content have with Apple's growing clout in digital media.

Bob Bowman, chief executive of Major League Baseball Advance Media, the Internet arm said the decision was prompted, in part, by the lack of control the league had over how its podcasts were promoted with iTunes. He says Apple declined to give Major League Baseball podcasts better visibility on the site when the league asked for it. He also says Apple wouldn't give the league a say in where promotions for its podcasts would appear on iTunes, leading to situations in which the league's content was adjacent to podcasts by individual baseball fans, Mr. Bowman says. "That may sound immaterial, but again the brand is very important to us," he said.