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Disney Is Lone Holdout From Apple's Plan to Sell 4K Movies for $20 (wsj.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple has signed new deals to sell movies in ultra high-definition with every major Hollywood studio except the one with which it has long been closest: Walt Disney. At an event Tuesday where he announced the new Apple TV 4K, the tech giant's head of software and services, Eddy Cue, said the device will offer Hollywood movies in the high-resolution format, called either 4K or UHD, for ultra-high definition. Logos for most major studios briefly flashed on a screen behind Mr. Cue, including Time Warner's Warner Bros and Comcast's Universal Pictures. Mr. Cue said those studios' movies will be available in UHD at the same price as high-definition movies. Participating studios have agreed to a maximum price of $19.99 for 4K movies, currently the highest price for HD movies, according to a person with knowledge of the deal making. Apple had pushed studios not to raise film prices above that threshold. The one absence from Apple's list of big studios selling movies in UHD is Disney. It wasn't immediately clear why the company behind Star Wars and Marvel couldn't reach an arrangement with Apple. It currently sells its films in 4K on other digital stores, such as Wal-Mart Stores' Vudu, for $24.99.
I disagree. I was a rampant pirate a few years ago based on my feeling that the content producers refused to deal with me in good faith. Their DRM was an annoyance I wasn't willing to deal with to enjoy content that I had purchased. Their offerings were priced inappropriately. And they continued to feel as if I needed to consume on their schedule. I constantly told anyone who would listen that I would be happy to pay for reasonable access. During this entire time I did not pirate commercially available music. I treasure my CD collection. Bootlegs are another story...
Now I subscribe to Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime, and regular cable for the AMC, FX, and a few other apps. My monthly budget for content is easily $200 and I get to gorge myself on content all month long. I'm happy to pay for what I consume if they are willing to operate in good faith. If not, the market will provide.