While US-based customers of the iTunes Store have been privileged to purchase and download video content in the form of television programs and feature films, consumers in the UK have had to make do with TV offerings only. Soon, however, Apple will be announcing its start of sales of movie titles pulled from the catalogues of four studios - Disney Pictures, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. - which will purportedly be priced similar to those affixed to physical DVD copies of new and archival releases. It has also been reported that Apple will simultaneously make available the option to rent movies.
According to Dan Sabbagh of The Times of London, though prices for DVDs generally fall somewhere within the range of £6 to £25, the average cost for movies sold through Amazon and Play.com, roughly £12.99, is “an indication of the potential pricing” for movies sales within the UK iTunes Store. Of course, as with movie studios’ desires to maintain vibrant DVD sales within the US, they will be naturally price purchase-to-own movie sales so as not to undercut their DVD businesses, which presently comprise a significant share of annual revenue.