01/07/2008, 8:35am, EST
Monday, January 7thApple compromising for iTunes rentals?
Apple is close to scoring deals with most Hollywood studios but may have had to make significant concessions to get a large catalog of titles for an anticipated launch at Macworld San Francisco, sources have told BusinessWeek. While the movie houses have reportedly dropped attempts to protect DVD sales by insisting on month-long delays between physical and digital releases, Apple has had to raise the prices of new-release features at or near the $17 mark common for many DVDs to receive broader support. Which companies have asked for the tradeoff is unclear, though negotiations are purportedly close to extend or add movie sales and rentals from Lionsgate, Paramount, and Warner in addition to Disney and Fox.
Some of these deals may not be announced at the Macworld keynote due to only partially-settled terms for some of these studios. Others such as Sony are considering the possiblity, though NBC-Universal's continued dispute over TV shows is reportedly precluding Universal Studios movies from showing through the online service. The information points to rentals reaching a relatively fixed price of $4 each for 24 hours.
Much of Apple's impetus is believed to rest in reinvigorating the Apple TV, which is widely known to have undersold since its launch in February due in large part to a lack of suitable content from the iTunes Store. Reports from various media sources have suggested that Apple may switch on the ability to buy or rent movies directly from the Apple TV and therefore eliminate a common complaint about the lack of direct downloads on the media hub.
Movie studio support as a whole is also considered important but may initially prove secondary. Wal-Mart shut down movie sales last month citing poor sales despite being the only digital movie provider to negotiate deals with all major movie studios, though the failure has been informally attributed to Wal-Mart's willingness to abide by strict copy protection rules and to elevate prices to guard its DVD business.
Filed under: industry, Apple
Other story tags: iTunes, Apple TV, Universal, Warner, Fox, Paramount, Disney, Lionsgate
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But it's all good. This will help force the studios into understanding that people aren't 100% gullible and will eat whatever they get fed.
Not everyone has or will have Netflix, but it's really hard to beat them. I suppose some will go for $4 rentals but I think that's about a buck too high.
I love the rental idea. I just hope they can offer for $2. It fits better between the cheap redbox DVD's and places like Blockbuster.
However, not for four dollars for 24 hours. That's bullshit. Hell, not even four dollars for 48. If I want to rent a movie, ESPECIALLY from iTunes, I better be able to view it at my leisure, on my Mac, AppleTV, iPod and iPhone (with the option of being able to watch this movie on any iTunes-authorized Mac) for at least three days. At LEAST. For four dollars, it better be at five days.
NOT 24 hours.
24 hours don't even make sense with all of the other options out there, including free options.
And don't even get me started at 17 dollars for a digital file with less quality than a DVD.
The idea is cool, but Apple is making far too many concessions (according to rumors) for this to be successful like the original iTunes store idea. That 99 cents per song with the ability to download individual tracks was a game-changing, brilliant decision that favored consumers more than it did the industry that spawned the content.
Obviously the studios aren't willing to make that "mistake" again.
$17 to buy a less-than-DVD-quality movie and $4 for a 24 hour rental is ridiculous!!
I have money saved for the next Apple TV revision and am hoping to buy one right after Macworld. I will be very disappointed is Apple allows movie prices to go up $2-3 and rentals to be sold for only 24 hours at $4 a pop.
One glimmering possibility is that all content will be HD! I'm sure they will announce something along these lines. iTunes has needed HD content for quite a while. The Apple TV has been ready for it as long as it's been around.
What better time to release an iTunes HD movie/rental store. I still wouldn't pay $4 for a 24-hour rental, but $17 for true HD is a little more palatable.
Problem is, on my connection at home, it may take 24 hours to download the HD movie. :-(
or maybe you don't really have any balls and are just using that tired old argument so you can justify your looting...? i mean, it used to be just music but now it's movies too? oh dear.