“The FT and others report that Apple and News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox are preparing to announce a digital movie rental service via Apple’s iTunes store. The service hasn’t been acknowledged by either company, so it’s a bit early to call it a hit or a dud. But here’s a look at some potential winners and losers if the service ever takes off,” Dan Frommer writes for Silicon Alley Insider.
Winners:
1) Apple
2) Akamai Technologies
3) 20th Century Fox
Losers:
1) Other download/mail/store-based movie rental services, such as Blockbuster, Netflix, Amazon, etc.
2) Cable companies, telcos, and anyone else offering video on demand.
3) Blu-Ray, HD-DVD
4) Microsoft
5) Sony (SNE), cellphone manufacturers (MOT, NOK), and other consumer electronics makers
Full article here.
You could always backup your films on Blue-ray, hd-dvd.
I don’t agree with your losers
They aren’t MDN’s losers, but they are correct. I would add The Studios that did not join Apple’s Rental service to the loser pile.
They left out the biggest winners of them all
US, the consumer
Steve is really pissed.
This will only work if Apple manages to get the all of the Big 5 movie studios on board, which is unlikely. TimeWarner and Universal are not likely to let Apple run their music business like they have their music business.
That said, if Fox, MGM, and Disney signed up I would probably sign up too.
I think if they allow back up of hi-def disc, they will see a resurgence in sales over the next few years of classics and children’s movies. Not overnight, but eventually.
As I have said for a few years, cable and telcos will have to shift their business model to depend on supplying bandwidth, and away from supplying content, as this will be made available by the like of iTunes. A slow build out to fiber will perpetuate this.
“TimeWarner and Universal are not likely to let Apple run their music business like they have their music business.”
Apple isn’t doing anything to run their business, they just want you to think that. Bottom line is the music industry failed to see the way of the future and did nothing. Apple stepped in, created a path, now they don’t like it and are whining like a bunch of babies.
Don’t forget paramount, apple already has a deal with them. Also, Disney includes Miramax and Touchstone.
Here’s hoping that Universal is the only company left out.
You can add to losers; everybody outside the US…
We’re pretty fed up not getting in on the action, and this is one of the major reasons I don’t mind piracy, even though I never steal myself (I buy the stuff that I want).
And I’m so incredibly tired of all those poor excuses for not including the rest of the world — if they HAD to, they could make it. But the rights owners are cowards.
BauMai
Nothing has been taken away from you, so you are not a loser.
Hopefully you will be a winner by this time next year.
TowerTone, I understand what you mean, but when you’re used to ALWAYS be left out, you look at it differently.
I live in the most advanced country in the world (no, the US does not top that list), and we’re crippled in so many ways, all the time! Every week we read about new services that we can’t use because we don’t live in the US. One more example is that all interesting channels on Joost! are closed for those living outside the US. There are NO technical reasons for this, ONLY reasons related to rights. Nothing else.
Let me know if you want more examples…
“I live in the most advanced country in the world (no, the US does not top that list), and we’re crippled in so many ways, all the time!”
Interesting contradiction.
I’ve always wondered what FT was up to these days.
So many young stars seem to fade away as time goes by, it’s good to see Fuzzy Tomato made good!
Ampar, actually it doesn’t have to be a contradiction. OECD concludes this in it’s survey based on, among other things, technology penetration, which is much wider than just movie-rentals and -purchase from computers.
But this is an area the irritated the hell out of a lot of people. I can rent movies on my TV-decoder via IP, why not from the same source to my computer, with the extra benefits?
It’s just plain silly.
Isn’t Dan Frommer the same guy who said that first million iPhones sold was a disappointment and Apple was only going to sell 5 million of them by the end of 2008?
If you’d stop listening to these assholes when it’s most convenient, they wouldn’t have a voice.
14th century Portuguese expression: All comparisons are odious.
“I live in the most advanced country in the world……..”
“Losers:
1) Other download/mail/store-based movie rental services, such as Blockbuster, Netflix, Amazon, etc.
2) Cable companies, telcos, and anyone else offering video on demand.”
I disagree. Amazon is doing fine with music since iTunes paved the way to get us to seriously consider downloads and gave they customer what they wanted (DRM-free, inexpensive, works with all players).
So too, if Apple makes the video download model consumer friendly, then others too can benefit as long as they too give us, the customer, what we want (generous/unobtrusive DRM, inexpensive, works with all players).
I have neither the time nor the interest in backing up and managing a collection of DVD or HD movies to any format. I would prefer to rent it a second time rather than take up the shelf space for movies I ‘might’ sometime want to watch again.
Dan Frommer was awarded a Zoon Award for his fuzzy math methodology in predicting Apple and iPhone would fail to meet its initial quarterly sales goals.
Frommer is now in good company, along with Scott Moritz, John Dvorak, Rob Enderle, Brian Lam, David Sessions, and Roger Entner.
“Frommer is now in good company, along with Scott Moritz, John Dvorak, Rob Enderle, Brian Lam, David Sessions, and Roger Entner.”
Wow. That would be a dinner party in hell. Throw in Turtle Boy and Fester and you’ve got a demonic coven. Oh, and Laura Goldman jumping out of the cake.
Well, I would like to know what the most advanced country in the world is so that I can look at what industries y’all have that we are not privy to.
And, yes, you stretched the meaning of “losers” to include your particular situation.
Now let’s say they turned off .Mac in your country. You would have lost something there.
By your definition, you are a loser because you live in the most advanced country in the world, and can’t get something available in another country (as of now).
Amp
Or they could just call Dominoes and order the “Laura Goldman Special”, also known as “The Huge Pizza Ass”.
This article seems premature. The high def disc formats could be winners if they include high def versions of the movies in Fair Play.
The most advanced country in the world is probably Sweden. They have the hottest babes in the world. Just ask Tiger.