Filed under: iTS, Rumors, Video
iTMS movie downloads in September - but only one studio on board so far?
The rumors are flying even faster in the last couple days that movies could appear in the iTMS as early as September. We're hearing that Apple might have an event planned in San Francisco for Sept. 12th, where they could announce iTMS movies, or simply a $300 leather case for their $350 iPod Hi-Fi. Curiously, Business Week is running an article about opposition against iTMS movies from Wal-Mart, of all companies (turns out they're the largest DVD retailer with 40% of the market). Business Week also mentions that Apple only has one studio signed on so far - Disney (of course) - though we aren't sure where they heard that (with studio CEOs dropping their own hints, it seems anything goes right now).
So where does this all leave us? Honestly, we're not sure. Rumors are flying, but Apple hasn't officially made any event announcements or so much as sneezed in one direction or another. We wish we had more to tell you, but for now, we'll just have to keep our ears open.
[Update: woops, Apple actually has confirmed a special event for September 12th.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stephen said 9:25AM on 9-01-2006
You never know what to suspect with Apple. They are so secretive. I guess the more sources, the more true this rumour is.
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Jon said 9:34AM on 9-01-2006
Walmart's getting really worried about Apple, however it remains to be seen how long it would take to download a movie, how many you can store on a 6G iPod and what the quality will be like when you burn it to DVD. I don't think price will make much of a difference in this battle.
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Jerid Hill said 9:37AM on 9-01-2006
Let Walmart complain all they want, they have a tendency to offer everything either through their stores or online and they put so many small companies out of business. Touche, Walmart, Touche....
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Jay said 9:58AM on 9-01-2006
All these hypocrites who bash Wal-Mart for everything, but after making all that noise, drive to their nearest Wal-Mart and buy stuff from there. Apple is no saint either. Apple, too, has broken many a law and trampled upon tons of smaller companies to make their products a success. So it ain't worth fighting or defending either crook. I hope Wal-Mart launches something to counter Apple's monopoly in the music/movies download market to bring down costs and improve service.
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J Patrick Kerr said 10:07AM on 9-01-2006
I found this post on a TiVo Forum - just thought it was interesting. I cannot, by any means, verify any of this. Just fuel for the fire.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4284749&&#post4284749
"I attended the WWDC last week and got into a conversation with a guy from TiVo while waiting for a session on Quicktime. I asked him about playing protected AAC songs from iTunes and he smiled and said "Can you wait a few weeks?". Excited, I asked if they had licensed the codecs from Apple, and he said they had an agreement with them. Apparently, music is just scratching the surface. He said the HME team at TiVo had a late beta of an iTunes client, which allows for searching, browsing, downloading, and playback of music, videos, tv shows, and, get this, movies! Apparently, they are mostly waiting on Apple to finish the negotiations with the studios and they are going to announce the whole thing when that is done. TiVo gets lots of new downloadable content and Apple gets a few million new iTunes customers. A match made in heaven."
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Jon said 10:03AM on 9-01-2006
#4: The article implies that it is Hollywood that is keeping the prices high, not the retailers. The company that will be the most successful will be the one that has the most studio backing.
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mangrilla said 10:23AM on 9-01-2006
#4
"I hope Wal-Mart launches something to counter Apple's monopoly in the music/movies download market to bring down costs"
Yeah, because Apple sure is keeping the price of music exhorbitantly high.
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Steve said 11:01AM on 9-01-2006
Regarding Jay's comment on hypocrites bashing Walmart and then shopping there.
I can assure you Jay, that I do not and will not shop at Walmart. They are evil incarnate and for some reason idiots continue to shop there simply because they think they are getting a better price. But at what price. That company is an economic polluter and we are all going to be paying a price for our greed soon and for a very long time.
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Ernest Leitch said 11:05AM on 9-01-2006
I'm not sure if I'm one of the few people that doesn't care if apple launches a movie store. I have a 5th gen iPod and I'm far from happy with the quality of video they deliver with their TV shows. They're unwatchable on a big screen TV. If they release movies for the iPod I hope they're no more then $7 because paying anymore then that is a waste of my money. I can wait a few months and pick it up on eBay for about the same price and get a higher quality product. Or pay $5-6 more and get it that day with bonus features.
I understand that some people want this, but I'm curious if it's just a loud minority and the majority don't care.
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Query said 11:08AM on 9-01-2006
Remember how when the iTMS TV shows debuted, only one network was signed on at the time? Maybe we'll see it the iTunes Movie Store grow starting with Disney and a few other studios. Just a thought.
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MfS said 12:02PM on 9-01-2006
Well, Steve (#8), I guess I'm an idiot! I shop at Wal-Mart. One just one income and a 1-year-old at home, I don't have the luxury of thumbing my nose at Wal-Mart, since I have to make the most of my income to provide for my family.
If you'd like to shop around and patronize those who fit your ideal, go for it. In the meantime, I'll continue to shop wherever I can to get maximize my dollar so I can merely exist and provide for my family.
If the iTMS store or Wal-Mart offers something cheaply, and I happen to have a few extra bucks, you better believe I'll get my entertainment there rather paying full price.
Sounds like a union representative has pounded their ideals into your head...shame.
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one1step1 said 12:46PM on 9-01-2006
Regardless of what comes of this - Apple will have to come with something spectacular. The Video iPod is probably more hyped up than the iPhone..
There is no way I would pay $14.99 for downloadable movies.
I would rather see a structure such as:
$2.99 - Rental - for 5 days.
$9.99 - Buy: Download, but burnable 3 times.
$14.99 - Buy: Download, burnable 3 times, and they send you the actual DVD and Case for it, like Gamefly does (without the burning..gamefly doesnt let you do that).
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one1step1 said 12:53PM on 9-01-2006
#7 - I hope that was tongue in cheek.
Apple had to FIGHT to keep the music at .99 Cents. It's the record companies that want to ream us for charging more. At least someone is standing up to them, and knows consumers like the .99 cent price point.
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Jon said 2:14PM on 9-01-2006
13: What are you talking about? Haven't you heard the record companies rallying for lower prices? They say that they're earning far too much and would like to reduce their profit margins. It's those greedy distributors like Apple that are screwing everything up for them.
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Shane said 2:51PM on 9-01-2006
Didn't the TV Store start with only 1 network. I don't see this as a problem. If it works well for Disney, I could see a lot of other studio's signing on.
Shane
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Randulo said 6:40AM on 9-05-2006
Guys and gals, go read "The Long Tail" by the editor of Wired if you haven't already. Prices will come down, Wallmart will go the way of Tower Records if they don't get the $hit together and (here's the good part) the number of available video titles, TV and movies will expand exponentially.
I've never been an Apple fan, but I like iTunes video a lot. It downloads quickly (with 2meg DSL) and it looks fine (not great, but fine for TV) on normal sized TV. Most TV showsare watchable on widescreens (from the iPod) but there are disturbing artifacts from time to time.
I just hope the number of businesses offering online content will multiply and the prices are sure to come down.
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