It's Really Happening: Fox Movie Rentals on iTunes
December 27, 2007

Fox has yet to publicly announce this unprecedented, and long-rumored offering on Apple's iTunes. But several media outlets, including Wall Street Journal and  MSNBC.com were reporting that a deal between the studio and Apple was imminent. To date, studios have only sold movie and TV show downloads on iTunes. Fox would represent the first studio to allow for digital rentals of films on Apple's service, where movies would play for a limited time. 
There had been some earlier reports that Fox was preparing to cut a film sales deal on iTunes. Its not clear if that is still in the works.
Fox did not comment to VB.
Enviously, Apple has recently become a company that can do little wrong, with its slew of trend-setting products.  But Apple has been forced to rethink its video strategies as content suppliers are starting to revolt against its terms. NBC Universal recently decided not to sell its shows on iTunes in protest over having no control over pricing. Rental may add a layer of pricing flexibility that studios crave, and help thaw any chilly relations with Apple.
Fox gets something out of this too, according to a Financial Times report, where the studio will get access to Apple's proprietary digital rights managment for use in its DVDs. On Live Free or Die Hard, Fox was the first studio to offer a digital copy embedded into the physical disc. But a lot of people could not check out this milestone, because it can't be played back on Apple portable devices or computers. Conceivably, Fox will greatly expand the popularity of its copy offerings, and strengthen its efforts to thwart piracy, with Apple's DRM. Apple's video iPod is the most popular portable movie playback device.  

Posted by Susanne Ault on December 27, 2007 | Comments (0)