Apple Insider is reporting that two unnamed studios will be adding their film catalogs to iTunes after the upcoming holiday season. The article notes a few reservations that studios still have in regards to working with Apple on movie downloads. Those issues include pricing flexibility, and a fear of retaliation from retail outlets if lower priced movies are offered for download.
I think we’ll be seeing some changes to the iTunes Movie store before we see too many non-Disney owned films available for download. Pricing still seems to be a MAJOR issue for the studios (some of whom actually think we should have to pay MORE for the convenience of being able to download the video). Will Apple change its pricing model for the studios? I’m not so sure they will. I think Jobs and co. know that what they’re selling isn’t the same as a DVD, and it shouldn’t cost as much. It will be interesting to see who blinks first, but the long term success of the iTunes Movie store is still very much up in the air.