Fox studio head hints deal for early rentals on Apple's iTunes still 6-12 months out
A deal between movie studios and companies like Apple and Comcast to provide early-access movie rentals should be complete within the next 6 to 12 months, the studio head of 20th Century Fox said at a Los Angeles media conference.
Rentals will cost "less than $50," Stacey Snider claimed, according to Bloomberg. She added that while negotiations have been slowed partly because studios are blocked from coordinating on them, efforts have "started to coalesce around a concept."
Typically, rentals and purchases don't begin until at least three months after a movie's premiere. Studios have been floating the idea of opening up rentals anywhere between 17 days and 6 weeks, at a price somewhere between $30 and $50.
Snider's comments may suggest that studios are leaning away from the $50 mark, which would be a difficult sell. $30 would be closer to the price of a pair of theatrical tickets, but if it's accompanied by a long wait time, some customers might still hold off until they can get a rental under $10.
Another unresolved problem is splitting revenue with exhibitors, who could lose out if streaming happens while movies are still in theaters. Studios have reportedly balked at demands for commitments as long as 10 years on that split, and could even choose to cut exhibitors out of the loop, though that would risk some titles being boycotted.
If a deal is at least six months away, Apple is unlikely to make mention of it at its Sept. 12 press event. The company may, however, announce 4K and HDR support on iTunes, matched by a fifth-generation Apple TV.
Rentals will cost "less than $50," Stacey Snider claimed, according to Bloomberg. She added that while negotiations have been slowed partly because studios are blocked from coordinating on them, efforts have "started to coalesce around a concept."
Typically, rentals and purchases don't begin until at least three months after a movie's premiere. Studios have been floating the idea of opening up rentals anywhere between 17 days and 6 weeks, at a price somewhere between $30 and $50.
Snider's comments may suggest that studios are leaning away from the $50 mark, which would be a difficult sell. $30 would be closer to the price of a pair of theatrical tickets, but if it's accompanied by a long wait time, some customers might still hold off until they can get a rental under $10.
Another unresolved problem is splitting revenue with exhibitors, who could lose out if streaming happens while movies are still in theaters. Studios have reportedly balked at demands for commitments as long as 10 years on that split, and could even choose to cut exhibitors out of the loop, though that would risk some titles being boycotted.
If a deal is at least six months away, Apple is unlikely to make mention of it at its Sept. 12 press event. The company may, however, announce 4K and HDR support on iTunes, matched by a fifth-generation Apple TV.
Comments
Me, I'd rather wait a couple months and buy the movie on BluRay because I have a half decent HT setup. It's no high end Sony 4K setup but the BenQ I have is pretty good.
Lock the door? It's my wife that's generally the worst one about wandering away because she doesn't like the movies the kids like.
Lemme see, the last movie we went to was like $60 for the tickets, ~$20 for popcorn x 2, ~$20 for sodas and ICEEs and another ~$10 for nachos...so out of pocket was like $120-$130 bucks.
At least the damn theater had assigned motorized reclining seats which are better than mine...
And all that's before we consider that doing a "cam" would be much easier in the home, even if we make an assumption that Apple can absolutely protect the signal with HDCP from the Apple TV to the TV—which we can't (video). Did you know that the same week that The Hitman's Bodyvguard (2017) was released to theaters in the US it also became available as a quality HD (i.e.: not a guy holding a camcorder in the back of a theater in Budapest) to download on torrent and newsgroup websites because it was released straight to Netflix in Japan? If you're not aware, that film only hit theaters a couple Fridays ago in the US.
So, can someone please explain to me why it's in the best interest of movie studios to make deals to have high grossing films released to the home where they can be more easily stolen where 2x the price of the average, single, adult ticket is an extreme asking price when it can be viewed by as many people as you can fit into your living room and likely with multiple viewings and the convenience of being able to ability to pause and rewind scenes?
Still, if it was a matter of waiting just a few weeks instead of waiting a half a year or longer to watch at home, I may go to the movies less… and I pay for MoviePass and have a great theater a short walk from my front door.
One of the main reason people don't go to the theater is not ticket price, but the actual price and bother of everything else.
A $30 dollar film for a family of 4 were they don't have to do the whole expedition out would both save a lot of money and be a lot easier.
This ease and lower price would result in more people seeing the movie when the hype is high thus they would ultimately get more revenues.