A pair of stories popped up yesterday, both of which focus on some new and exciting ways to enjoy your favorites movies online. On one hand we have Apple trying to entice the big studios into letting their flicks play on iTunes, and on the other we have Netflix announcing an attempt at a new download service. Me, I like to collect DVDs.
Story #1, courtesy of Variety: "After conquering the digital music biz and taking the lead with TV shows online, Apple is looking to feature films. The computer company is in active negotiations with most major studios to add movies to its iTunes Music Store, most likely by the end of the year, numerous sources confirm. The main sticking point is price.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who has been personally involved in the talks, initially proposed selling all films at a flat price of $9.99 — an offer the studios flatly rejected. "We can’t be put in a position where we lose the ability to price our most popular content higher than less popular stuff," said a studio exec close to the negotiations.
Story #2, also by way of Variety: "Netflix is planning to introduce a proprietary set-top box with an Internet connection that can download movies overnight … Besner said the business model is still being worked out, but the download service likely would be offered in return for the subscription fee members pay for conventional DVD rentals. Service could launch as early as this year. Users would add movies they want to watch to their rental queue online as they do now, and those movies would then be downloaded to the boxes overnight rather than shipped through the mail."
So what say you: the hardcore movie geeks? Download over "physical" rental? Will it work … this quickly?
