When Apple revealed that it had signed up all of the major movie studios to distribute films via the iTunes store in January, lost in the fine print was the fact that most new releases would still have a waiting period before they were available online. This was simply because Hollywood was afraid of cannibalizing DVD sales. It’s the same reason why movies don’t come to HBO until a few weeks or months after their DVD release. That is about to change.
Apple is set to announce agreements with almost all of the studios (aside from MGM) to release movies to iTunes on the same day they are released to DVD, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This immediately makes the Apple TV, from which you can purchase and rent movies via the iTunes store, more desirable.
It also gives Apple TV an edge on competitors such as Amazon’s Unbox movie service (which has a partnership with the digital video recorder, TiVo) and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console (from which you can also rent movies). In fact, Microsoft may feel more pressure to strike a deal with Netflix to bring its streaming service to the device — if such a partnership isn’t already in place, as has been rumored.
In recent weeks, users may have noticed Apple and the movie studios testing out launching films on iTunes the day of their DVD release. It’s been seemingly random, but many popular movies have been available from day one, even though it was previously stated that they wouldn’t be.
Brick-and-mortar movie rental chains such as Blockbuster, may be in even more trouble now.
This is an important step in the shift to digital film distribution. It should help erase doubts about Apple competing in the movie business as it has in the music business. Now, if only iTunes would implement a rent-before-you-buy system.
Tags: co:Apple4 Comments
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Lee Coursey said:
What is the actual reach of iTunes movie downloads? What percentage of iTunes users are using the service? In my case, I find it’s MUCH faster for me to drive down the road to get a movie from old brick-and-mortar Blockbuster than to wait overnight for a movie download. All this, and I’m a huge geek with an iPhone and everything. I just don’t get the appeal of “Ooh! I want to see that movie… 5 hours from now when it stops downloading!”
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Jeff said:
I would love to rent movies via AppleTV, but can’t seem to get myself to pay $3 for Ground Hog Day and $4 for I Am Legend. I can’t bring myself to do it when I can go to the Red Box kiosk 2 minutes from my house and get the same new releases for a dollar and I have no wait. I will not pay for TV shows since most are free on the web anyway. Like the old argument, I can justify the mac mini first and I don’t know why they are not marketing to me because of it.
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Dominic said:
Lee Coursey:
Good question. I think that used to be the case, but it seems like the situation has changed. I started using Amazon’s Unbox service a month or two ago with the same concerns that you express. However, since I can start watching the movie before it has fully finished downloading, I can be watching in less than 5-10 minutes. That time certainly beats driving to a Blockbuster (especially since I don’t own a car)…
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MG Siegler said:
@Lee - Yes, Dominic is right, you can actually start watching the movies only a few minutes (or less depending on your connection) after they stop downloading.
@Jeff - I too still think iTunes rental prices are a bit steep — which I why I loved the idea for a 99 cent movie of the week, as well as the thought I expressed in the post, a rent-before-you buy system. I could justify both the rental and the purchase if perhaps I rented a movie for $3, and then could buy it for $10-12 more (after subtracting the $3 I paid for the rental) if I really liked it.
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