Monday, December 3, 2007

News Corp/Fox Close To Deal With Apple For iTunes Movies

News Corp and its studio Twentieth Century Fox are close to a deal with Apple to begin offering new releases and catalog movie titles through iTunes beginning in early 2008. The two sides are waiting till early 2008 prevents any impact to the all-important holiday DVD selling season. Disney is the only major studio with full catalog within iTunes for now, while Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM have partial catalog deals. The post outlines some reasons for this possible change. The major one: Apple appears willing to modestly increase the wholesale price paid above the $14.00-$14.50 that Disney has been receiving. Others may follow suit if Fox comes into the fold. Also, studios want to sell premium priced DVDs that include a digital copy of a movie..if they add a premium to the digital copy which can play on an iPod, it may become attractive to consumers. One thing that remains unclear: whether the studios will allow iTunes to rent movies or create a subscription service? There has been rising speculation that an upcoming version of iTunes will enable that feature.
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-news-corp-fox-in-talks-with-apple-for-itunes-movies-report/

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