Warner Bros said to have signed on for iTunes movie rentals

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Major motion picture studio Warner Bros, which was reported earlier this month to be mulling a deal with Apple to offer up its catalog for a new iTunes rental service, is now said to have inked a deal with the iTunes operator that will see its films available through the service at launch.



Citing people familiar with the agreements, Bloomberg claims that Warner will join Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Walt Disney and Lions Gate as initial content providers for the iTunes movie rental service, which is widely expected to make its debut next Tuesday at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.



New releases and older titles will both fetch $3.99 for a 24-hour rental, according to the report, which echos claims published last month by the Financial Times.. However, other reports have suggested Apple might adopt a slightly different pricing structure that would charge more nominal fees for older library titles.



Nevertheless, distribution deals with Fox, Disney, Paramount, Warner and Lions Gate would seemingly provide Apple with more than 60 percent of Hollywoods offerings for its new service right off the bat, with those on the Street expecting many of the remaining pieces to fall into place shortly thereafter.



"Once a couple of studios do it, how long can the others resist?'' Richard Greenfield, a Pali Capital analyst, said in an interview with Bloomberg. "It becomes only a matter of minutes before the others come on board too.''



Separately, Bloomberg added that Apple's deal with Fox may also see the studio's movie catalog made available for sale through iTunes, joining Disney which already offers its flicks for permanent download at prices ranging from $9.99 to $14.99.



As was reported by AppleInsider on Tuesday, the iTunes movie rental service will require that customers download and install the still unreleased iTunes 7.6 software.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 50
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Hi



  • Reply 2 of 50
    What are the chances that any of this will be available in Canada any time soon?
  • Reply 3 of 50
    I'm loving the iTunes rental goodness... BUT, I'm still not liking the 24 hours from download aspect and how that relates to portable devices. How can I load up my ipod or iphone for vacation? Hopefully, there is more to this part of the story.
  • Reply 4 of 50
    What about TV show rentals???
  • Reply 5 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drummerjoe View Post


    What about TV show rentals???



    Good question. With the price at $1.99 to BUY an episode, I'm skeptical that studios would be willing to go much lower than that.



    Also, to really hook me, Apple would need to offer some sort of subscription plan similar to Netflix. What they're proposing sounds pretty cool (except for the too-short 24 hour window) but I'd likely rarely take advantage, just the odd impulse rent here and there.



    If they could come up with a plan that had "unlimited" rentals along with tons of selection (including TV episodes), I'd love to dump my Netflix, buy an aTV, and switch over.



    But I don't see that happening, at least not for a LONG time.
  • Reply 6 of 50
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rener View Post


    What are the chances that any of this will be available in Canada any time soon?



    Heh, heh, heh!



    What do you think?





    By the way, welcome.
  • Reply 7 of 50
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by minderbinder View Post


    Good question. With the price at $1.99 to BUY an episode, I'm skeptical that studios would be willing to go much lower than that.



    Also, to really hook me, Apple would need to offer some sort of subscription plan similar to Netflix. What they're proposing sounds pretty cool (except for the too-short 24 hour window) but I'd likely rarely take advantage, just the odd impulse rent here and there.



    If they could come up with a plan that had "unlimited" rentals along with tons of selection (including TV episodes), I'd love to dump my Netflix, buy an aTV, and switch over.



    But I don't see that happening, at least not for a LONG time.



    Yeah, this 24 hour thing gets me. Why 24 hours? Why not 48, or 72?



    I suppose a lot of people decide what they want to watch just before they download it, but still...
  • Reply 8 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Yeah, this 24 hour thing gets me. Why 24 hours? Why not 48, or 72?



    I suppose a lot of people decide what they want to watch just before they download it, but still...



    I'm hoping that particular rumored detail turns out to be wrong (at the very least it should at least be 24 from the start of playing it, not from the start of the download). There's no question that if they announce 24 hours, it will get a terrible response from the public and the press. Hopefully they'll extend it to at least 36 or 48 once the official announcement happens and it gets panned...even better would be if they've seen the online backlash that happened before it was even officially announced, and had second thoughts about something so restrictive.



    It's not like the studios would make less money with 48 or even 72. It's not like they'd be losing income from people who'd want to rent the same movie again the next night or something.
  • Reply 9 of 50
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by minderbinder View Post


    I'm hoping that particular rumored detail turns out to be wrong (at the very least it should at least be 24 from the start of playing it, not from the start of the download). There's no question that if they announce 24 hours, it will get a terrible response from the public and the press. Hopefully they'll extend it to at least 36 or 48 once the official announcement happens and it gets panned...even better would be if they've seen the online backlash that happened before it was even officially announced, and had second thoughts about something so restrictive.



    It's not like the studios would make less money with 48 or even 72. It's not like they'd be losing income from people who'd want to rent the same movie again the next night or something.



    I'm sure they must have some reason. I can't believe, that with all the money that's at stake, they would just pull a number out of a hat. Too bad I'm not privy to their reasoning.



    Though, unless it's streaming, the time must start when the download finishes.
  • Reply 10 of 50
    ratay1ratay1 Posts: 13member
    as far as i know it IS 24 hrs from the start of play (not download)...



    and while i'd guess that they know everyone would like more time, i think the studios must be driving the time limitation...let's not forget that they still are in bed with the brick & mortar rental services...from which i'd expect they generate a significant amt of revenue. that said, there NEEDS to be an easily discernable difference in service to maintain the integrity of the existing rental model. "24 hrs" vs. "no late fees" might be viewed by some as a good reason to drive to the store.



    separately, but related, has anyone heard anything on firmware updates to appleTV that will allow the use of itunes 7.6 directly from your couch? seems to be the next significant step to improve user experience...but news on that front is understandably taking a backseat to discussion of lining studios up for rentals...
  • Reply 11 of 50
    If iTunes movie rentals start out as 24 hours from download, Apple will certainly make the change down the road and spin it as "listening to their customers" again like they did with the iphone rebate and SDK announcement. And why not? ... they'll get more headlines, and more happy customers.



    Even an Apple product release that is 50% of expectations can still be better than what competitors are currently offering.
  • Reply 12 of 50
    ratay1ratay1 Posts: 13member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    I'm sure they must have some reason. I can't believe, that with all the money that's at stake, they would just pull a number out of a hat. Too bad I'm not privy to their reasoning.



    Though, unless it's streaming, the time must start when the download finishes.



    think the way they get around the streaming clock is by having the software manage access/availaiblity of the title. itunes7.6 will actually inhibit your ability to use the file after so many mins have passed since you first hit "play."
  • Reply 13 of 50
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ratay1 View Post


    think the way they get around the streaming clock is by having the software manage access/availaiblity of the title. itunes7.6 will actually inhibit your ability to use the file after so many mins have passed since you first hit "play."



    We'll see. no one really knows anything yet. It's all guesswork right now.
  • Reply 14 of 50
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    I'm sure they must have some reason. I can't believe, that with all the money that's at stake, they would just pull a number out of a hat. Too bad I'm not privy to their reasoning.



    Though, unless it's streaming, the time must start when the download finishes.



    What if I leave the media downloading whilst I am at work, I get home, it's not done. I go to bed early and it finishes. I'm late home the next day (or had an appointment or something already booked) - it's timed out!



    It had better start when I first start to play it past 5 minutes of viewing (so that a test play to see it's okay doesn't affect it).



    $3.99 is fine for a rental, especially if the media is HD (although I guess it's going to be AppleTV-friendly rates, so ~5mbps H.264). Hope it would be under £3 in the UK.
  • Reply 15 of 50
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hattig View Post


    What if I leave the media downloading whilst I am at work, I get home, it's not done. I go to bed early and it finishes. I'm late home the next day (or had an appointment or something already booked) - it's timed out!



    It had better start when I first start to play it past 5 minutes of viewing (so that a test play to see it's okay doesn't affect it).



    $3.99 is fine for a rental, especially if the media is HD (although I guess it's going to be AppleTV-friendly rates, so ~5mbps H.264). Hope it would be under £3 in the UK.



    Then I would say that your connection is too slow to be effective. And that's the problem with downloading movies.



    I would like to see them stretch the time. But we don't know anything yet.
  • Reply 16 of 50
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Though, unless it's streaming, the time must start when the download finishes.



    Why? Is there a technical reason, or would that be a strategic reason on the part of the studios? For people with slower connections, the download could take hours and finish up at who knows what time. I don't see why any app capable of starting a countdown at the end of a download couldn't also start a similar countdown when the file is played for the first time.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ratay1 View Post


    separately, but related, has anyone heard anything on firmware updates to appleTV that will allow the use of itunes 7.6 directly from your couch?



    I don't think anything has leaked, but a rental model would absolutely require an aTV update, possibly an iPod update as well depending how they implement the DRM. I sure hope there are drastic improvements to aTV, the rental announcement next week would be a perfect time to show off an improved aTV as well.
  • Reply 17 of 50
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    New releases and older titles will both fetch $3.99 for a 24-hour rental, according to the report, which echos claims published last month by the Financial Times.. However, other reports have suggested Apple might adopt a slightly different pricing structure that would charge more nominal fees for older library titles.



    As was reported by AppleInsider on Tuesday, the iTunes movie rental service will require that customers download and install the still unreleased iTunes 7.6 software.



    Again- for that time period at that p$ice and at the current quality= RIPOFF!
  • Reply 18 of 50
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by minderbinder View Post


    Why? Is there a technical reason, or would that be a strategic reason on the part of the studios? For people with slower connections, the download could take hours and finish up at who knows what time. I don't see why any app capable of starting a countdown at the end of a download couldn't also start a similar countdown when the file is played for the first time.



    The computer knows when the download is over. ITunes knows.



    I'm not saying that it couldn't start with the beginning of play. Of course it could.



    I'm responding to the statement that the counter would start at the beginning of the download. When you said this;



    Quote:

    not from the start of the download)



    All I'm saying is that it wouldn't have to start at the beginning. It could start at the end.



    It could start at play as well, as you say.
  • Reply 19 of 50
    Ah, I get it now. Sorry, I misspoke, I meant the end of the download.
  • Reply 20 of 50
    It will be interesting (w/ smirk on my face) to see how long Universal will stand in the corner w/ its "Apple Is Evil" flag before it comes forward to offer its movies.



    Nothing is ever gained in business when you make such emotional and vindictive decisions. As the cliche goes, never burn bridges.



    /
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