Could the country’s largest music retailer soon become the country’s largest DVD retailer?
Since Apple first launched its online movie rental service back in January it has suffered from a combination of selection and availability. First it was the number of major and independent movie studios who made their libraries available, which has since been resolved, and then it was the 30-day lag time between a movie’s release to DVD and it’s offering for purchase – not merely rental – on iTunes, a policy which has been announced will change starting today.
For Apple announced this morning that new movie releases will be available for purchase on the iTunes on the same day as their DVD release. New releases and catalog titles will be available from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios. New releases will be priced at $14.99 USD with most catalog titles costing $9.99 USD.
“We’re thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios.”
New releases available for purchase on the iTunes Store this week, concurrent with their DVD release, include “American Gangster” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” Other popular titles now available for purchase include “Juno,” “Cloverfield,” “I Am Legend,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”
Regular iTunes movie rentals still go for $2.99 USD, and $3.99 USD for new release rentals. HD versions are $3.99 USD and $4.99 USD.
The move is sure to be a setback for Blockbuster and Netflix who previously had the advantage of a 30-day head start on the sales of new DVD releases. With the barrier removed we once again see Apple taking its command of the entertainment world to new heights.
Having already surpassed Wal-Mart as the number one retailer of music in the US it may just be a matter of time now that it becomes the number one retailer of DVDs ahead of Wal-Mart as well. All of this from a simple computer company that was largely written off in the 1990’s and whose imminent demise was widely predicted.
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Take THAT wally world!
I wouldn’t exactly say Apple is better than Walmart.