iTunes rumors: movie rentals
The latest rumor announced by Think Secret is that in three weeks, Apple will announce movie rentals to the all popular iTunes store. This is a departure from most thought was going to be the movie downloadable model of which would be similar to how iTunes works with music currently. Apparently sinking to studio wishes, Apple is moving to a rental model.
We're hesitant to think that this would work unless it was for a very cheap pricing model. No one wants to pay for something they can't own and with Netflix already dominating the new medium rental market, there isn't too much room for Apple to maneuver. Also, if Apple has given in to studio demands, then there will likely be higher costs associated with the movies due to studios often not being able to justify the overpricing of their works.
Movielink currently is already providing the same service as well as others smaller stores, but has met with negative reviews due to pricing close to twenty to thirty dollars compared to a cheaper, but better quality DVD release. It will be interesting to see where Apple turns or if they drop this completely instead of tarnishing their track record with consumer confidence.