Movie Rentals on iTunes?

Rumor has it that Apple executives may be planning to announce a new venture of providing movie rentals for their iTunes website. Some of the major Hollywood studios include: Warner Bros., Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, and Universal Studios. (Source: thinksecret.com)

Early information indicates that Apple had originally hoped to buy the rights to movies from the studios, and then sell these movies to consumers. Unfortunately Hollywood was adamant about providing the films only on a subscription or rental basis.

Therefore, it is assumed that when the announcement is made, iTunes will be offering the films on a rental basis. The downloaded movie files will likely have a shutoff timer that will limit the amount of days or the amount of times the customer can view the film. (Source: slashdot.org)

Will Customers Buy into the iTunes Movie Rentals?

Although iPods and iTunes are still growing in popularity, will customers want to use the new movie rental service?

Some critics identify the fact that users may not be willing to use the bandwidth and time necessary to download these films. (Source: cdfreaks.com) Furthermore, there are many other available and convenient options for renting movies, either by mail or in a local video rental store, which may prove to be a more practical alternative for movie lovers.

It is speculated that the company may announce its new initiative at the next Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference taking place August 7-11, 2006 in San Francisco, CA. (Source: apple.com)