Die Hürden für Apples Filmangebot

Über die letzten Tage verteilt widmeten sich diverse Artikel den Hürden, die sich dem dringend nötigen Ausbau von Apples Filmangebot in den Weg stellen. Die New York Post packte einmal mehr Wal-Mart als beleidigte Retail-Wurst aus: «Wal-Mart, worried that offering the shows for viewing on iPods would cut into DVD sales at its stores, sent "cases and cases" of DVDs back to Disney, according to a source familiar with the matter.» Wal-Mart selbst dementierte dies gegenüber Reuters, deren eigene Quelle ganz anderes zu berichten weiß: «The source, who declined to be identified, said the discount retailer learned over the intervening months that customers who download -- primarily young, single males -- are not the same as those customers who buy DVDs. "I don't think Wal-Mart or Target or any of the big box retailers are nervous," the source said, "because we have had almost a year of learning and development, and it has proven not to be that threatening."» Die LA Times (Reg. erforderl.) problematisiert dahingegen die enge Verknüpfung von Jobs und Disney, die ebenfalls auf andere Studios abschreckend wirken könnte: «"It's appropriate that both companies be concerned about the potential conflicts of interest when you have a shareholder and board member who also has an executive position at a customer, supplier or business partner," said Kirk Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.[...] "I can tell you from being involved firsthand, we treat Apple like every other technology provider," Chapek said.» Universal und CinemaNow starteten derweil einen neuen Testballon, wie die Business Week berichtet. So soll "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" am selben Tag des DVD-Verkaufsbeginns bei CinemaNow für 9,99$ herunterzuladen und auf DVD zu brennen sein. «Studio executives say they are watching the experiment closely. "The test is, are consumers going to find this an interesting thing," says Thomas Lesinski, Paramount Pictures' president of digital rights. "I think burning will get a lot of focus early next year."» Auch die im iTunes Store vorbestellbaren Titel (Cars und Pirates of the Caribbean 2) werden gleichzeitig mit der Kauf-DVD erscheinen, allerdings nicht als abspielbare DVD gebrannt werden können.