Apple Misses Mark on Movie Rentals

From InformationWeek
As of the last day in February, iTunes had a total of 770 titles, including movies for rent and for sale, according to a tally compiled by Macworld.com. In checking the list of movies for rent on iTunes through an Apple TV or a computer, Macworld found 351 and 378 titles, respectively, far short of the 1,000-movie goal.

Apple also fell short on the HD promise. Macworld found 91 HD movies, with some of them not offering Dolby sound.

In announcing movie rentals, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said the company had signed all the major studios, including 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and Sony Pictures. In a nod to DVD retailers, such as Wal-Mart, the studios agreed to make new films available 30 days after the DVD release.

Nevertheless, movie studios have been slow to embrace the Web for movie distribution out of fear of piracy and cannibalizing the DVD business, which comprises the vast majority of sales and rentals.

(Shawn's Comment: Why can't this guy put 2 & 2 together and posit that maybe it's because the studios are dragging their feet?)

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