Rich Fiscus
1 May 2008 13:48
Apple has made it clear in recent months that they believe their iTunes online store is capable of taking the lead in online movie downloads in much the same way it practically created the online music market. Now it appears they've taken a significant step in that direction by getting agreements with a number of studios to offer downloads on the same day movies are released on DVD.
Apple 's new deals with 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios will allow them to sell movies as much as 45 days earlier than they've been able to in the past, and represents a major departure for the studios.
While this may seem somewhat surprising at first glance, it's not necessarily as shocking if you consider the generally accepted fact that DVD is on its way out. After watching the music industry's failing efforts to prop up the CD market, studios have made it clear that they dont' intend to make the same mistakes. While officially they may still be pinning their hopes on the success of Blu-ray, the faltering U.S. economy would seem to make any predictions of massive growth for that technology less realistic every day.
With their own past efforts to create a viable online distribution system more interesting than successful, turning to a company that's proven both capable of establishing a market and willing to work with content owners seems like a fairly obvious move. At the same time, it doesn't seem like downloaded movies that require new (and unfamiliar) hardware to play will be appealing to the average consumer, who has already shown an unwillingness to part with money for a Blu-ray player.