HBO agrees to allow Universal, Fox movies on Apple's iCloud

Posted:
in iCloud edited January 2014


Premium cable network HBO has agreed to relax its terms from contracts with Universal and Fox and allow the studios to make their movies available for download on Apple's iCloud.



Last week, Apple began offering users the ability to re-download movies that were previously purchased on iTunes via its iCloud service. But major studios Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox were noticeably absent because of a prior arrangement with HBO.



HBO, however, has agreed to loosen its agreements with Universal and Fox, which will allow their movies to become available on iCloud, according to The Wall Street Journal. The cable network has already revised its terms with Warner Bros., and its content is already available for users on iCloud.



Though it will allow the content to be re-downloaded through iCloud, HBO will not give up its exclusive rights to broadcast movies during a "window" after the film is released. The window is typically about six months after a movie is released on DVD, and lasts about a year.



Under the current terms, if Universal and Fox were to allow an iCloud user who purchased a movie through iTunes to re-download and watch it on a device like an iPhone or iPad, it would be in violation of HBO's exclusive rights.



But a spokesman for HBO confirmed that HBO will agree to allow users of iCloud, as well as other services, to download movies they already own on other devices. With iCloud, a user can re-download a movie, TV show or song to a device like an iPhone or iPad without re-syncing it to a Mac or PC and transferring the copyrighted file that was originally downloaded.











"Fox expects to resolve the issue as soon as within weeks, said a person familiar with the situation," the Journal reported. "Another person is familiar with the matter said Universal is near a resolution."



The iTunes in the Cloud functionality within iCloud originally only applied to music, books and applications purchased through the iTunes Store. Now, users can access both movies and TV shows as well. The service even applies to the iTunes Digital Copy format, which gives users the ability to download a digital version of a film when they buy a DVD or Blu-ray disc.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Just? get rid of the stupid movie posters taking up half the screen, get rid of the Computers button and just put my stuff in the categories where it actually belongs, and let me have NAS-on-the-network support natively and I would love this interface to death. Sure, it's no proper iOS-looking interface, but still.
  • Reply 2 of 57
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    The dyke begins to crack ...
  • Reply 3 of 57
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Just? get rid of the stupid movie posters taking up half the screen, get rid of the Computers button and just put my stuff in the categories where it actually belongs, and let me have NAS-on-the-network support natively and I would love this interface to death. Sure, it's no proper iOS-looking interface, but still.



    Oh I don't know ... you can easily scroll down. Seeing the large pics at the top is kind of nice I think, nostalgic reminder of going to the DVD store last century and seeing all the boxes.
  • Reply 4 of 57
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    I had a feeling they would work out something like this.
  • Reply 5 of 57
    solsunsolsun Posts: 763member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Just… get rid of the stupid movie posters taking up half the screen, get rid of the Computers button and just put my stuff in the categories where it actually belongs, and let me have NAS-on-the-network support natively and I would love this interface to death. Sure, it's no proper iOS-looking interface, but still.



    I quite like the interface and the large posters up top which change for each selection. (TV, Music, etc.)
  • Reply 6 of 57
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    The dyke begins to crack ...



    That HAD to be a misspelling because it makes no sense even as a bad pun.
  • Reply 7 of 57
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    So what does this mean going forward, using Game Change as an example?

    That it will still be six months ( or a year?) until its available on iTunes.



    Frankly, I think yesterday's article about CBS dismissing Steve's proposals was incredibly telling. These guys are going to cling to their 'existing cash flow' model until piracy puts them in the same hole the record industry was.



    Yes, they have to protect their IP. But no, their current insistence on sticking with an antiquated distribution model is not the way to do it.
  • Reply 8 of 57
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    That HAD to be a misspelling because it makes no sense even as a bad pun.



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyke



    Maybe it's one of those flexible uses of English like using 'but' after a period?





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    Yes, they have to protect their IP. But no, their current insistence on sticking with an antiquated distribution model is not the way to do it.



  • Reply 9 of 57
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyke



    Wow! One certainly learns something every day!

    Tks! 😱
  • Reply 10 of 57
    Not trying to be too much of a stickler here, but, Shouldn't this article read, "....iTunes in the Cloud" and NOT iCloud? Granted they are both from Apple, but doesen't iCloud only mean the 5gb of space (to start) for Contacts, Mail, Docs, and Apps? A casual user would read this article and come away with the impression that they can use iCloud to redownload movies and music, when in fact, you have to use "iTunes In the Cloud", to redownload movies and music....right? or am I looking way to deep into this?



    Maybe i am silly, but I first read the headline and was thinking they were allowing a music match type upload to the cloud....not a re-download of already purchased items, from iTunes in the Cloud.
  • Reply 11 of 57
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    Wow! One certainly learns something every day!

    Tks! 😱



    No probs
  • Reply 12 of 57
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Just? get rid of the stupid movie posters taking up half the screen, get rid of the Computers button and just put my stuff in the categories where it actually belongs, and let me have NAS-on-the-network support natively and I would love this interface to death. Sure, it's no proper iOS-looking interface, but still.



    The UI is fine. Safe to say that Apple knows how to design a UI better than a @#%&;@# forum poster.
  • Reply 13 of 57
    joelsaltjoelsalt Posts: 827member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyke



    Maybe it's one of those flexible uses of English like using 'but' after a period?



    I'm not sure what that means, but I'd bet its a British/American thing.



    (They spell it "tyre" over there too!)
  • Reply 14 of 57
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Oh I don't know ... you can easily scroll down. Seeing the large pics at the top is kind of nice I think, nostalgic reminder of going to the DVD store last century and seeing all the boxes.



    Yeah, and like the DVD store this is a store and as such marketing is required. Just like in iTunes and the App Stores.
  • Reply 15 of 57
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joelsalt View Post


    I'm not sure what that means, but I'd bet its a British/American thing.



    (They spell it "tyre" over there too!)



    e.g.

    For those who could learn from the subtlety of your response...



    "I'm not sure what that means. But I'd bet its a British/American thing."
  • Reply 16 of 57
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joelsalt View Post


    I'm not sure what that means, but I'd bet its a British/American thing.



    (They spell it "tyre" over there too!)



    Hence 'flexible'.



    p.s. I am British / American.
  • Reply 17 of 57
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    e.g.

    For those who could learn from the subtlety of your response...



    "I'm not sure what that means. But I'd bet its a British/American thing."



  • Reply 18 of 57
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Am I(outside of Apple)) the only one who likes the new UI? I think it's awesome.
  • Reply 19 of 57
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    HBO2GO..... paging HBO2GO......



    As a side note- whether it be through the recent iTunes update or the new ATV update, my ATV2 responds much quicker at streaming movies from my iTunes Library and it loads much faster. After the last Airport update, it made everything much slower on my ATV (faster on my iPhone), but the update seems to have made it even quicker.



    The only thing I don't like about the new interface are the color combos (I like Apples monotone steel blues and greys they use on the Mac and iPhone much better. More industrial looking. The new XBox UI is pretty nice- I do have to admit. Apple also could have condensed the icons to make them more square (a la iPad/iPhone), and combined all the sports into a "Sports" icon, and we could have had everything on one screen without any scrolling (and they could keep the big movie posters). But I'm sure this UI will evolve and allow us to make our own folders, etc. as Apps come about. You can see this is obviously where the UI is headed.
  • Reply 20 of 57
    hittrj01hittrj01 Posts: 753member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jazzmsngr View Post


    Not trying to be too much of a stickler here, but, Shouldn't this article read, "....iTunes in the Cloud" and NOT iCloud? Granted they are both from Apple, but doesen't iCloud only mean the 5gb of space (to start) for Contacts, Mail, Docs, and Apps? A casual user would read this article and come away with the impression that they can use iCloud to redownload movies and music, when in fact, you have to use "iTunes In the Cloud", to redownload movies and music....right? or am I looking way to deep into this?



    Maybe i am silly, but I first read the headline and was thinking they were allowing a music match type upload to the cloud....not a re-download of already purchased items, from iTunes in the Cloud.



    To my understanding, iTunes in the Cloud is simply one part of iCloud, not its own separate thing. If you look on Apple's iCloud homepage, iTunes in the Cloud is one of the 8 "tent-pole" features of iCloud: http://www.apple.com/iphone/icloud/
Sign In or Register to comment.