Filed under: iTS
iTunes movies come to Canada as well
UK readers aren't the only ones who can now purchase and rent movies via iTunes, Canadian readers will be happy to note they can get in on the fun as well. Interestingly the viewing period for rentals in Canada also lasts for 48 hours, which leads me to believe that the US window will also increase (though we have no information to confirm that).The Canadian store has over 1,200 movies to buy, 200 of which you can rent. The pricing is as follows:
- CAN$9.99 to purchase catalog titles
- CAN$14.99 to get recently released movies
- CAN$19.99 to purchase new movies
- CAN$3.99 for renting a library title (a dollar more for HD)
- CAN$4.99 for new release rental (a dollar more for HD)
Update: I assumed you all knew I meant 'UK reader's when I said 'Japanese readers' in the first sentence. I blame the overwhelming excitement of this news. The error has been corrected.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Liam Duffy said 10:00AM on 6-04-2008
... "Japanese"?
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apernett said 10:09AM on 6-04-2008
yeah!, seriously... japanese???, didn't you mean "English"
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niclet said 10:15AM on 6-04-2008
French ??????? In Canada please, en français tabarnak!
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jno said 10:46AM on 6-04-2008
Umm... can someone explain why I have to pay a dollar more then the US when my money is worth more?? why do US companies continue to screw us by making us pay more just because most Canadians are just used to it. I'll just keep on ripping my movies, or renting them through the US store until Apple figures out that they are ripping us off.
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Dan said 5:32PM on 6-04-2008
I would bet the extra $1 is going to offset some film / video tax credit, Canadian content fund, or CRTC requirement etc.
I sure love our Government 'protecting' us...
Dan
Marshall said 11:16AM on 6-04-2008
Rentals now expire in 48 hours. That's double the old expiry limit and a good response to a lot of complaints.
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RobK said 11:24AM on 6-04-2008
What a rip-off!! The Canadian dollar is pretty much on par with the US dollar yet Canadians pay a significantly more for iTunes movies.
I suggest you send a signal to Apple and the Movie industry and buy elsewhere.
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Phil said 11:31AM on 6-04-2008
@jno: First of all, we're different countries. Even though when you compare currency values, the USD and CAD are different types of dollars. They may be both labelled "dollars", but they are different currencies. Take a look at the UK. Each GBP is valued more than each dollar. They still pay a lot more than we do in Canada and the US. The simple reason goes way beyond the exchange rate.
You have to understand that products (such as movie rentals or purchases) aren't stocks. I think this is where the confusion begins. You can't trade a $399 iPhone or a $399 worth of Apple shares. The prices we pay for products in Canada isn't based on the US prices. They don't sit at a table and say "Ok, we should charge a dollar more just because.." Other factors are involved. Taxes, levies, operational costs, manufacturing costs, etc.
Companies need to analyze market value over time. It would be complete chaos if prices fluctuated based on the dollar value. Imagine walking into a store and let's say the CAD is valued at half the USD. You buy a product for $200 in Canada what is valued at $100 in the US. Next day, the dollar values are the same. Prices in Canada change to $100 for the product. How many people will go into the store the next day to get a refund?
Businesses would not be able to sustain and the whole market and economy would be a mess. Hope this gives you a little insight.
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RobK said 1:08PM on 6-04-2008
Phil you analysis works for many brick and mortar type operations based in Canada but fall apart for most virtual stores. (Especially Internet Stores based in the US that sell into Canada).
You should look at other US based internet stores that have a virtual StoreFront in Canada with goods in Canadian dollars. The prices are often VERY close or even the same. The main difference being shipping costs to Canada being higher.
(e.g. The Canadian Apple stores sells a MacBook Pro for $2099. The US Apple stores sell it for $1999. A 5% difference. Apple is probably trying to protect themselves against any currency fluctuations. For many other internet stores the price difference is MUCH smaller).
And there are NO duties for movies entering Canada. Yes there are GST taxes but they all flow through to the consumer when he or she the GST sales tax at time of purchase. The GST does not affect the retail price of goods.
The retail price of almost all consumer goods protected by a monopoly are based on how much a consumer will pay!! And face it the movies are protected by a legal monopoly -- copyright law. (ie Only movie studio X can sell and set the price for movie Y). The movie industry is one of the few industries protected by a monopoly with VERY little Government oversight.
IMHO, the main reason why iTunes movies are more expensive in Canada is greed.
Phil said 1:46PM on 6-04-2008
The reply buttons don't appear for the people I want to reply to! lol
@RobK: My whole shpeel was to stray away from comparing prices to the US. My response was a generic look at pricing in Canada. However, you do raise a valid point. Whether it's Apple or the movie companies is a different story though. If we're comparing to the US, the iTunes music store is priced matched with the US with $0.99 downloads. If it's truly greed, they could have gone with $1.29 downloads instead for example.
But hey, you could be right too. It could be just a greed thing. I was focusing more on how just because the dollar is at parity with the US, it doesn't necessarily mean retail prices on merchandise and goods will do the same.
Phil said 11:41AM on 6-04-2008
Correction in my 2nd paragraph:
"You can't trade a $399 iPhone for $399 worth of Apple shares."
And RobK, I hope this gives you some insight too before you start boycotting.
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Cameron said 4:14PM on 6-04-2008
Refusing to purchase something because you think the price is too high is not a "boycott."
Trever said 12:15PM on 6-04-2008
"Businesses would not be able to sustain and the whole market and economy would be a mess. Hope this gives you a little insight."
Have a look around, the economy is in a mess. At least it is in the USA side of the equation.
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The Echidna said 1:31PM on 6-04-2008
I want to know whats up with the $20 for buying a new release. I don't remember the US store having anything like that. I can kind of accept paying a dollar more for movies, but paying $5 more? No way. Thats 30% of the actual price!
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harrywolf said 2:23PM on 6-04-2008
There are 741 movies for rent on the Canada iTunes store, not 200.
The prices dont reflect the reality of the situation at all.
Once the copies of the movies are loaded to the servers, then the ONLY cost is bandwidth, which Apple pays and the user pays through his ISP.
The greedy bastards at the studios dont have to make any labels, any DVD's, anything at all!
They just sit back and get the same cash as if they were actually doing something.
Most people have realised that rentals are only really worth it if you can copy the movie and watch it later for free - so as a value proposition in the real world, Apple must rely on the convenience of not having to drive to the video store, etc.
Which is OK, and I expect them to do a lot of business because it saves time and gas.
Why cant the insane studios (same as the music business morons) see that by dropping the price to say $2 for a rental, they would do a LOT more business?
Some may say that copying rented videos is a bad thing, against the law, etc. - but when the people decide that something is a 'normal' activity and is do-able with the technology (computer, dvd player) that they have purchased with their cash, then the law becomes foolish and unworkable very quickly, as it has with music MP3 files.
On some of the older films, the cast and crew are either over 80 or dead, yet still the studios make cash.
IMHO, films movies and books should be in the public domain after 25 years.
They are anyway, because so many copies are out there, and someone will let you watch their copy for free or give it to you or make you a copy.
Those people are called 'friends and families' - perhaps the studios would like me to bill my Dad for a movie I gave him, and send the cash to them?
iTunes movies is a great service, but its high price means that we will continue to produce environmentally-damaging crap (packaging, disk, etc) to make some fat rich biz guy with a bad haircut and a 1950's suit happy.
Actually they are never happy, they arent smart enough to achieve that state.
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harrywolf said 2:32PM on 6-04-2008
Meant to add that Apple should win an environmental 'Good Guys' award from those asshats at Greenpeace for actually DOING something to save gas, packaging, plastic, etc.etc.
Wont happen because the 'war on environment' is yet another red herring bs nonsensical pile o' crap invented by crazy people to make more cash, along with the other notably successful campaigns such as:
'war on terror' - hasnt been able to detect the real terrorists so far...(the USA and the UK governments)
'war on drugs' - managed to increase drug use exponentially - well done guys.
'war on poverty' - made a lot of rich bastards richer, and a lot of poor people poorer.
'war on reality' - oops, I think that one is working.....
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ct123490 said 3:19PM on 6-04-2008
CN$20 for a new release and CN$15 for a recently released?? Why are the prices the same as buying a physical copy from the store when distribution costs are minimal, there's no expense for stocking and inventory, and no manufacturing costs? sorry if this gripe is a repeat
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Alex Ross said 3:23PM on 6-04-2008
The last comment is exactly right... I can buy new releases from Blockbuster for $20 the day they come out, and I'll continue to do so for movies I want to own.
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Brock Gunter-Smith said 9:53PM on 6-04-2008
It appears at first glance that I can't move the rented movie to my AppleTV. It syncs fine to my iPhone, Touch and other computers, but it won't allow me to move it to my AppleTV 2.0 in Canada :-( I hope I'm just overlooking something.
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kot said 10:13PM on 6-04-2008
same here... I don't see any movie via my Apple TV...