Movie Rentals Coming to iTunes

Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on December 27

Reports today say that Apple and Fox are close to announcing a deal that would allow iTunes customers to rent movies via iTunes, and use them for a limited time.

What’s not completely clear is what the use rules will be, and that’s going to be a big point in whether or not this new model works. Once a rented movie is on your iPod or iPhone, for instance, will your rental period be the same? Or will the movie work as long as you don’t sync with your Mac or PC?

Another big question I have about this is whether or not the AppleTV device will get a big software upgrade that gives users a direct interface to the iTunes Store, allowing direct rentals (and purchase) from the comfort of the living room couch. Giving more power to this product should, in my opinion, make its appeal substantially stronger, and push the device out of the realm of a “hobby” and boosts its sales.

Apple’s entering an already busy, field, but one that’s not terribly successful as yet. Netflix and Blockbuster are already in the online movie business, but neither has exactly set the world on fire. Apple, as we all know, could do exactly that.

Another big bit of news coming out of this apparent agreement with Fox: DVDs will have the ability to be ripped to iTunes in such a way that they’ll be covered by Apple’s Fairplay digital rights management scheme. That’s a very big change for Apple, and should the same option be made available to other studios, it should go a long way toward convincing them to be more iTunes-friendly.

All this, and more apparently coming on Jan 15 when Steve Jobs takes to the Macworld stage in San Francisco.

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/