BREAKING -- Paramount Titles Come to iTunes

Every time Apple has a big event, tech fans go crazy. These events mean big announcements of big products and services. In other words, they mean exciting things for computer technology -- exciting enough that sites like TUAW need to live blog every few minutes in order to satisfy the geek appetite for immediate updates (MacRumors went way overboard on this idea).

Since September, Apple events have allowed movie geeks to join in the frenzy. But what could Apple announce to the cineworld that would top news that iTunes offers movies? Probably nothing for awhile, but at least the company can announce the availability of other studios' titles. Actually, I wonder if Apple's true reason for not immediately offering more than just Disney titles is that they wanted to hold off each studio's participation for separate events (I prefer the Wal-Mart bully reason, because it is more fun to hate Wal-Mart than Apple).

Well, today is another Apple event called MacWorld 2007, and rumors were circulating the web and the press about what new products and services would be announced. And although they were only rumors, the very idea that something would be announced made Apple's stock go way up. The major rumor for us at Cinematical, generated by the Wall Street Journal, was that Paramount/Viacom would be the second studio to distribute movies to iTunes.

According to the WSJ, Paramount/Viacom (Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks, Paramount Classics/Vantage, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Films) would offer its back catalog, but not yet its new titles. So, you could get the first two Mission: Impossible movies, but not the third. Over at TUAW, Michael Rose speculates that the reason behind the new release absence is a compromise to Wal-Mart.

And right at the start of Steve Jobs' keynote speech, it was official: 250 titles would be added to iTunes over the next week from Paramount/Viacom. Also of interest to movie fans: the previously introduced Apple TV (iTV) will autosync movies from iTunes to your television set, which should be a very appealing detail for prospective movie downloaders. The Apple TV will be available next month for about $300. Other things announced: widescreen iPod (for movies); iPhone (like an iPod/cell phone hybrid), which plays movies in widescreen or 4:3.