The Blog for Video 2.0
Friday, December 28, 2007
Apple and Fox to offer movie rentals via iTunes?
As had been speculated earlier in the month, News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and its studio Twentieth Century Fox have signed a deal with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to allow users to rent the latest Fox DVD releases by downloading a digital copy from Apple’s iTunes platform for a limited time, reports FT, citing sources. No pricing info in the story, though an earlier report in June pegged it at around $2.99 per rental.
The new deal will likely be announced at the Macworld show on January 14, and FT portrays it as a deal that “has the potential to transform film distribution.” I am not so sure the consumer market is ready yet...also, download speeds and time, usually on the higher side for movie files, still matter. Also, the Disney movie downloads on iTunes haven’t burned the charts yet in any meaningful way.
One interesting twist that will help, though: Besides the online rental deal, a digital file protected by Apple’s DRM scheme FairPlay will be included in new Fox DVD releases, enabling film content to ripped to a PC and video iPod. DVD content can already be moved to an iPod but this requires a bit of an effort.
The new deal will likely be announced at the Macworld show on January 14, and FT portrays it as a deal that “has the potential to transform film distribution.” I am not so sure the consumer market is ready yet...also, download speeds and time, usually on the higher side for movie files, still matter. Also, the Disney movie downloads on iTunes haven’t burned the charts yet in any meaningful way.
One interesting twist that will help, though: Besides the online rental deal, a digital file protected by Apple’s DRM scheme FairPlay will be included in new Fox DVD releases, enabling film content to ripped to a PC and video iPod. DVD content can already be moved to an iPod but this requires a bit of an effort.
Labels: apple, ipod, movie downloads, movies
# posted by HungryFlix : 7:21 PM
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