“Apple Inc. has fallen substantially short of its target of having 1,000 movies available for rent on its Apple TV set-top box by the end of February, and is blaming studios for the discrepancy,” The Associated Press reports.
MacDailyNews Note: Beyond Apple TV, Apple also promised and failed to deliver “over 1,000 titles by the end of February” for iTunes Movie Rentals meant for viewing on Macs, PCs, all current generation iPods and/or iPhone.
“Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs told shareholders at the annual meeting Tuesday that he’s ‘not happy’ with the shortfall, according to the San Jose Mercury News,” AP reports. “Jobs said it’s taking movie studios more time than expected to get approval from various rights holders, the paper reported.”
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr on Wednesday said the company hopes to have 1,000 movies available ‘soon,” AP reports.
“Apple was closer to meeting another of its stated goals: 100 high-definition movies available on Apple TV. On Wednesday, 98 were offered,” AP reports.
Full article here.
It doesn’t matter whose fault it is — Apple promised it in their press release, not the Hollywood studios. Don’t promise unless you know you can deliver, Mr. Jobs. Hasn’t Apple TV (a great device, by the way) been unnecessarily and unfairly hamstrung enough?
Here’s a shocking suggestion, Apple: Get the content secured and get some Apple TV ads on television that demonstrate how easy it is to rent popular movies. You should have had a movie-themed Apple TV ad running multiple times during The Academy Awards, but you blew that golden opportunity for this year.
Our Apple TV units wow everyone who sees them in action. As in, they all say, “Wow, I had no idea Apple offered this! I want one!” So, how about showing Apple TV to the rest of the world, Apple?
Can’t argue with MDN take this time.
It’s not in Steve’s blood to do this, but perhaps he should say “I’d like to have…”
I’d like to have the PPC chip up to 3ghz
I’d like to have 8 million iPhones sold
I’d like to have 1000 movies on iTMS
We still love ya’ Steve.
These days it’s harder to see where Apple begins and Microsoft ends.
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@ JAYGEE
Right…..
Your going to confuse Apple with Microsoft, the creator of mediocre and destroyer of many pieces of software over the last 15 years?
Wow.
Go MDN. Not very often they don’t defend Apple.
iMovie ’08 anyone?
but MDN, its ONLY 5 DAYS!
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WILL SOMEONE GET RID OF THESE LAME OBAMA BANNERS!
PUHHLEEASE!
@ Think – Your going to confuse Apple with Microsoft, the creator of mediocre and destroyer of many pieces of software over the last 15 years?
Yes I am. They may not be the same now, but if Apple keeps promising stuff, and then not keep them, things will get worse. :p
Good things come to him who waits.
Told ya. Oh yeah didn’t that Thurott call Apple liars, yet he goes whatever with MS and their “Vista Capable BS”. Maybe he needs to correct that article he wrote calling Apple Liars.
mdn may be conservative, or give the impression of its conservativism, but its also a business. businesses need money, presidential campaigns spend money like its going out of style. can’t fault them for wanting to make a $. it’s the american way.
Movies are like software: 90% of the titles suck.
I’d rather see 100 hit titles than 1000 no-name ones.
Give things time, the studios will eventually come around. They need revenue a lot more than Apple needs them.
The studios had better hurry and get us ‘used’ to watching rentals.
Otherwise in a few months we’ll get used to watching live streaming free YouTube TV instead (with ads).
Yep, I think Steve got bit by this one. In the past they have had the integration mostly internal to Apple so as to make the dates advertised. Now with the products needing integration with many outside sources, the task is more difficult than before. Lesson learned, but that only makes you better in the long run.
presidential campaigns spend money like its going out of style. can’t fault them for wanting to make a $. it’s the american way.
Very true.
I for one would be happy to sell Obama all the web space he’d ever want.
Note the word SELL. And damned if it’s gonna be cheap.
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The problem here is that Apple has to depend upon the studios to get the rights they need, which may or may not have been disclosed to Apple when the studios signed their deals with Apple.
Apple needs to take note: Apple used to simply surprise us with “Here it is right now!” and has moved to “We’ll have it for you in a month!”, only things in the technology/intellectual property/artist world don’t work at the same paces or on the same time tables.
Apple would be better served going to occasional, invitation announcements and not worry so much about Macworld or WWDC (which has diminished as far as announcements go anyway), and therefore could make sure everything was ready before dropping the bomb.
One word, “Lawyers”.
Enough said.
Definition: Lawyer. See “Charlatan” pg. 89
Yes, it does matter whose fault it is MDN!
Jobs and Apple have to depend on the promises made to them by the studios. THEY broke the promise, not Apple. It is THEIR content, THEIR timetable, THEIR promise.
Its fair for Jobs go on the assumption that THEY will keep THEIR promise and communicate to customers the publishing timetable.
Lay off Apple and Jobs on this one.
The Writers Guild strike (and demand for video download compensation) had to be a factor.
MDN is right this time!!! So is Spark.
Well, obviously it’s the fault of the studios. If it was just a matter of encoding the movies and putting them on the server, Apple could have 10,000 rental movies by now.
I think it does matter whose fault it is. Apple can’t sell content that is not being made available. If Apple had a shortfall in Mac inventory because Intel stopped providing chips for some reason, would that be Apple’s fault?
Why is this process for getting approval any different than ‘On-Demand’ vids? Seems like a lame excuse(either by the studios or Jobs).
Last week <b>The Economist</i> magazine wrote that the cause of the delay was the writers strike, and the delay will probably continue because of the forthcoming actors strike; but they believed that after that is resolved the studios will go full-steam-ahead with Apple and also enable the purchase of HD movies as well as rental.
” . . . but they believed that after that is resolved the studios will go full-steam-ahead with Apple and also enable the purchase of HD movies as well as rental.”
So, that Stephen Baldwin/Pauly Shore comeback film is still on track?
Whew.