iTunes store Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Well, okay: maybe that's hyperbole about the death of DVD. On the other hand, maybe it's not. In what has to be seen as a major vote of confidence in online content delivery, almost all of the major studios (including Fox, Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal, Lionsgate, and what's left of New Line) have signed with Apple to offer many of their movies on the iTunes Store's download-to-own service -- simultaneously with the release of the DVDs. This seems to show that they're not squeamish about losing DVD sales -- or at least not squeamish enough to turn down the attractive deal Apple no doubt offered.

Most new movies currently offered for sale on iTunes cost 10 to 15 bucks and about 1 GB in hard drive space (depending on the length). AppleTV, the device that Apple hoped would make the iTunes Store even more prevalent by making content purchased there watchable on users' television sets, has been beset by problems, and free advertising-supported content providers like Hulu.com also present a challenge. But whether or not iTunes wins, we're getting inexorably closer to the day of physical media obsolescence. The studios have now shown they're willing to go there (this announcement comes on the heels of Time Warner's decision to offer all of its movies via On-Demand cable day-and-date with DVD releases).

Of course, videophiles will still want their Blu-Ray, and it's hard to blame them. But it's only a matter of hard drive space. Tick-tock.

I must have missed the memo about this officially being Whiny Mega-Retailers Month. A little over a week ago, we told you how uber-rich Wal-Mart was bitching about the new iTunes movie store, and how only Disney titles are offered there at the moment, perhaps because Wal-Mart (the big bully on the movie distrib playground, apparently) sent a letter to studios this summer warning -- that's right, warning -- studios that it is not going to just idly stand by and watch studios focus on downloads while DVD sales are heading south. Wal-Mart, as the leading seller of DVDs (which are Hollywood's biggest source of revenue), apparently has the muscle to dictate studios' business to them.

Not to be outdone, Greff Steinhafel, President of Wal-Mart's rival company, Target, has sent his own letter to major studios, whining about how movie download prices are below DVD prices, according to a Wall Street Journal story published yesterday. The letter reportedly said that Target would "reconsider its investment" in the DVD business if pricing isn't made more equitable ("equitable" here presumably meaning "lining our coffers with more cash and increasing the value of my own stock options so I can afford that private school tuition and new yacht").

As our sister site Engadget reported yesterday, Target and Wal-Mart both need to relax a bit on the whole movie download issue. The quality of movie downloads isn't even close to the quality of DVDs and won't be for a long time, and the prices aren't exactly bargain-basement -- it's simply just another channel for customers to choose from. Instead of whining about how movie downloads are going to sound the death-knell of DVD sales, major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target need to focus on finding ways to incent customers to buy DVDs instead (better features, better quality, special offers, exclusive content), while simultaneously finding ways to partner with studios and move into the digital download space themselves.

The market is ultimately going to dictate the future of movie downloads; if customers want it and will pay for it, and the product is good enough to support it, it's going to happen, and either DVDs will compete and hold their own market share, or they'll eventually go the way of the eight-tracks, cassette tapes, and VHS. Threatening the studios that if they don't give in, Target and Wal-Mart are going to take their balls and go home, isn't going to benefit studios or the retailers in the long run. When the game changes, guys, you don't pout and stop playing. You learn the new rules -- or better yet, make your own rules and own the game. Nobody likes a whiner.