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Apple Is In Talks With Hollywood For Early Access To Movies On iTunes: Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
Apple is talking with Hollywood studios to try and get iTunes rentals of movies that are still playing on the big screen. According to a report from Bloomberg, "some studio executives have been pushing to allow home rentals as early as two weeks after theatrical debuts and are considering a deal with iTunes as one option." Bloomberg reports: The most recent talks are part of longer-running efforts by Cupertino, California-based Apple to get new movies sooner, two of the people said. Such an arrangement could help iTunes stand out in a crowded online market for movies, TV shows and music. While the iTunes store helped Apple build a dominant role in music retailing, the company hasn't carved out a similar role in music and video streaming. Hollywood studios typically give theaters exclusive rights to new movies for 90 days or more before issuing them on DVD or making them available for online purchase. One of the concerns about iTunes is whether it will be a secure platform for delivering movies that are still in theaters, the people said. While Apple encrypts iTunes video files so they can't easily be duplicated, it's possible to use a camera to record a movie playing on a TV screen. A leak of picture that's still in theaters would jeopardize returns for the studios and cinema owners.
It doesn't matter how encrypted it is, it will easily be downloaded.
Thanks Apple!
I'm not, of course, talking about an iTunes rental price that remains constant.
It would have to be a price that starts out extremely high -- high enough to more than offset the losses resulting from decreased theater attendance and piracy -- then decays exponentially, asymptotically approaching what one currently pays for an iTunes rental.
The studios would definitely be leaving money on the table by saying no to this idea.
The fun part for financial geeks would be to figure out the decay constant that would maximize revenue for a particular title. The rental price for a movie like Titanic, which played in theaters for months, should decay much more slowly than for a movie like Ishtar.
That that is is that that that that is not is not.
I already severely limit the movies I go and see at the theatre because of cost. I can buy the DVD for half to 2/3 the cost of 2 adults going to see the same movie on the big screen. Nice thing about being willing to wait is that you don't get caught up in the hype and find you have spent good money on a crap film (e.g. Batman vs Superman). Too many movies are now about how many or how big the special effects are, plot, coherence, dialog all be damned. 3D is a fad, it does nothing to improve a crap movie and often ruins a good one. Equally the sound in theatres is often so loud you really wonder if permanent hearing damage has occurred. A DVD can be played multiple times, in any locations that has a DVD player. It can be paused, rewound, replayed, skipped forward all on demand. It can be loaned to friends and family, it can be on sold, it represents far more value than iTunes does. I have NEVER bought a digital download movie and have only ever bought 1 "CD" on iTunes , I prefer to buy physical media that I am in control of. Even better I buy 2nd hand media paying $2-5 for a DVD and less for a CD.
Fuck that. I would be lobbying for the government to be investigating this. There is a word for such behavior: Price Gouging.
before they're finished downloading. Not all of us, especially those of us in Seattle, are lucky enough to have connections fast enough to download a movie before the end of the rental period. Apple claims to allow 24 hours from the time you start watching it:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201611
But the four movies I rented all expired before they finished downloading and before I was able to even start watching them.
I think you'd have a better chance of seeing Donald Trump as the President of the United States.
It's really that simple.
"One of the concerns about iTunes is whether it will be a secure platform for delivering movies that are still in theaters, the people said. While Apple encrypts iTunes video files so they can't easily be duplicated, it's possible to use a camera to record a movie playing on a TV screen."
Yeah, that never happens in a movie theater...
#DeleteChrome
This is going to increase crowd density in the theaters that survive. Hundreds of theaters will close because there won't be enough new movies to come out to be theater draws, and thousands maybe tens of thousands of jobs will be lost.
I had a sucky sig.
There is a word for such behavior: Price Gouging.
"Price gouging" is just the free market at work. Movie rentals are far from a necessity, so if you don't want to pay what the market will bear, then don't rent it. Government intervention to prevent "price gouging" is only justified in emergency situations, such as the aftermath of natural disasters, and even then it often does more harm than good. Gasoline shortages after Hurricane Sandy lasted several days longer than necessary because government imposed price controls disincentivized fuel deliveries. Low prices don't help when the storage tank is empty.
Are why I stopped doing business with the company.
"GET / HTTP/1.0" 200 51230 "-" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; Setec Astronomy)"
It's a protection racket by the cinemas, most chains will refuse to show any movie that doesn't have an exclusivity period. As long as they stay united on this and only B-movies can survive on a direct to TV/DVD budget, nothing will change. It's pretty obvious they'd all lose business if they let competitors enter the market, so they don't.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
"Price gouging" is just the free market at work.
Considering significant region-based restrictions, "free market" is not at work here.
If I have to pay a different price (or have no access at all) just because I am traveling to a different country, that is pretty much the opposite of a free market.
I would love for good copies of new release movies to get leaked on the internet well before DVD release dates. Great idea.
Most of the money for most movies are made within the fist two weeks of release. So a two week exclusivity period is not that bad.
An iTunes price of a normal movie ticket is actually acceptable during the release period. The price is acceptably cheap when you factor the fact that THE FULL FAMILY (or a bunch of friends) can watch the movie for the price of one and save $$$ on food & drinks.
Except if people know they can own a movie in just two short weeks and be able to watch it in the comfort of their home, they will not pay the $30+ to go to the movie theater.
Of course, that's the reasonable way to do it. It makes great use of statistical mathematics and economics. It's also terribly practical, and would appeal to most consumers. Therefore, this is not what they will do.
Platform/service exclusivity might get them a bit higher unit price of the units sold, but at the same time they're fueling the pirate market...
Push it to all platforms and services at the same time, and people/pirates might be more inclined to sign up with a service other than $torrentsite
But it's Apple, they'll all be musicals.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Theatres get very little of the money from the ticket price, particularly during the first few weeks of release. After that time the theatre percentage increases.
So basically what this does is release to theatres while the theatre gets little, then after two weeks, as the studio percentage decreases, allow competition with home theatre. I doubt the studios will alter the current pricing formulas for theatres, so I guess this will mean many smaller theatres will simply have to close.
... when you factor the fact that THE FULL FAMILY (or a bunch of friends) can watch the movie for the price of one and save $$$ on food & drinks.
Aaaaand, that's the reason it WON'T be the price of a normal movie ticket.
No sig today...
“Demand is off the charts! Rates have increased to get more dime to the movie biz.”
I'm not, of course, talking about an iTunes rental price that remains constant.
It would have to be a price that starts out extremely high -- high enough to more than offset the losses resulting from decreased theater attendance and piracy -- then decays exponentially, asymptotically approaching what one currently pays for an iTunes rental.
Wait, wait, wait. I'm not into itunes and all this shit but what the fuck? You guys are renting digital content now? Worst of both worlds eh?
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
Except most of the profits in the first few weeks go to the movie studios. Theaters make their profit after a few weeks, and on concessions.
If the exclusivity is gone after two weeks, the theater loses. I'm fine with that, but theaters are going to either close or have to crank up the prices even more, which will break the prime profit period for movie releases.
http://www.themovieblog.com/2007/economics-of-the-movie-theater-where-the-money-goes-and-why-it-costs-us-so-much/
So yeah, this is great for iTunes. It's not great for theaters or movie studios. Don't expect it to be accepted.
So if I don't play apple, I don't get the early movies? Great.....
They definitely won't do that, unfortunately. Around here movies at the cinema cost the same if you see them on the first day or weeks later. It's probably hurting them, e.g. how many more people would have seen Suicide Squad on the big screen if the price had been reduced after the bad reviews were out? How much more would they have made if Ghostbusters was a little cheaper on the opening weekend, allowing people to realize that it wasn't as bad as the internet rage machine suspected it would be?
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
If I have to pay a different price (or have no access at all) just because I am traveling to a different country, that is pretty much the opposite of a free market.
Is that true of all goods? On an exchange rate basis, a Big Mac sandwich costs different amounts in different countries. That's why The Economist uses the ingredients and labor in a Big Mac as a product basket to illustrate which countries' currencies are undervalued.
Except if people know they can own a movie in just two short weeks and be able to watch it in the comfort of their home, they will not pay the $30+ to go to the movie theater.
You are assuming the movie rental would be under $30. I remember recently reading an article on a similar topic which estimated the cost of an in-home rental for a major movie still in theaters could be around $40-50. This is primarily to ensure going to the theater is still the cheapest option, and only those who really need the convenience would view from home.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
You're conflating two different issues.
If you make movies available for decent price on a wide selection of platforms, pirates will be those who are unlikely to be your customers anyway. Current attitude make pirates out of parents who can not justify $100 for babysitter, tickets, gas, parking and a small popcorn just to watch a two hour non-kid movie. Longer term, folks will just find something on Netflix/Amazon/HBO rather than taking legal and malware risk digging up torrents. And never go back to traditional studios that make them wait months to rent a movie everyone is talking about.
I am not even considering gazillion games and upcoming VR entertainment that is competing for the same leisure time as movies.
There is a word for such behavior: Price Gouging.
"Price gouging" is just the free market at work. Movie rentals are far from a necessity, so if you don't want to pay what the market will bear, then don't rent it. Government intervention to prevent "price gouging" is only justified in emergency situations, such as the aftermath of natural disasters, and even then it often does more harm than good. Gasoline shortages after Hurricane Sandy lasted several days longer than necessary because government imposed price controls disincentivized fuel deliveries. Low prices don't help when the storage tank is empty.
I would say that is mostly due to poor planning on the part of officials. When Hurricane Matthew was bearing down on Florida back in October, the state of FL bought up extra gas supplies and kept them at a safe distance but on hand and ready to deliver to troubled areas. Did gas stations run out of gas before / after the storm? Yes, they did. But the state had their trucks out to those gas stations often the very same day. With satellites and what not, a state has days and days to decide whether or not to make such preparations. It is far safer for the community to ensure that people can afford to buy gas to escape the path of the storm rather than let thousands of people die because they couldn't afford gas.
Nor is a free market necessarily desirable. A free market applied strictly leads to a tragedy of the commons, where the market produces all copies and negligible original works. But the government interference known as copyright isn't categorically better either, as its current lack of balance leads to perverse incentives producing an equally undesirable outcome: tragedy of the anti-commons.
I was interested for a second on the teaser of "Early access to movies", and then it said iTunes and I lost interest.