by CIO Staff

Apple’s iTunes to Offer Movies for Download?

News
Jun 20, 20062 mins
Consumer Electronics

Apple Computer and its chief executive, Steve Jobs, are reportedly in talks with Hollywood studio executives from Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios to offer users of its iTunes Music Store downloads of films for as little as $9.99 each, The New York Times reports.

The news comes from sources close to the potential deals who requested anonymity because the discussions are still confidential, according to the Times.

Jobs has been negotiating with the studio execs in Los Angeles for weeks, and he hopes to have the deal inked by this coming autumn, the Times reports.

Disney, which was the first company to offer television shows on iTunes, will likely be the first to offer its films on the uber-popular online music store as well, according to the Times.

Jobs, who is a Disney director, will meet with Disney execs at his first company board meeting later in June, the Times reports.

Apple did not provide the Times with a comment on the report.

If the news proves to be accurate, it’s not the first time Apple has met with studio execs regarding the possibility of offering films via iTunes, according to the Times. However, issues such as pricing, piracy, and endangered relationships between studios, movie theaters and retailers hindered the deals in the past, the Times reports.

Jobs’ current plan includes charging different prices for films, depending on how recently they debuted in theaters—if they were screened, according to the Times.

Typically, films are released on DVD four months after their debut in theaters, the Times reports.

Related Links:

  • EC Regulators Won’t Force Interoperable iTunes

  • Apple’s iTunes Found Guilty of Violating Norwegian Law

  • CBS, iTunes to Offer TV Shows for Computers, iPods

Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage.