Apple confirms Paramount and iTunes deal

It's official, Viacom's Paramount Pictures will indeed offer its movies for download over Apple's iTunes service. Some 250 titles in fact, including Tomb Raider, Italian Job, Wrath of Khan, Chinatown, Zoolander, School of Rock, and Sum of all Fears. The titles are currently being moved into the iTunes store and once available, should cost the same (no pricing was given) as the Disney films already available: $9.99 apiece for most titles, $14.99 for new releases and $12.99 for pre-orders.

[anonymous @ Jan 9th 2007 4:13PM]

Too bad there's no widescreen iPod (only) to view them on (sad).

[Ben @ Jan 9th 2007 7:57PM]

When will Apple get on the subscription bandwagon? I suppose the answer is "at the last possible moment" since their profits are massively higher as long as they are screwing us... Won't someone please think of the user?? :) Of course as a for-profit corporation they keep the user in mind only when that means more money for them... so I guess I sort of forgive them. But it means I have to support their competition.

I don't really care about the specifics of the model I just wish that I, as someone who only ever watches movies once, could pay less for a movie than someone who watches it 50 times. It doesn't have to be linear, but isn't that person getting more value out of it than me, even if its not 50x more value? Ah, how I long for a fluid entertainment market....

[Smeagol @ Jan 9th 2007 4:16PM]

15 bucks for new releases with no extras, less than DVD quality, fewer audio options, DRM galore, etc?

[Marian @ Jan 10th 2007 3:43AM]

If you don't want it, don't buy it.
For example, I prefer Netflix. But I don't claim iTunes movies are trash.

AFAIK, movies from iTunes have no DRM. That's why there aren't too many studios in.

[Michael @ Jan 9th 2007 4:21PM]

Well - this fits well with the iPhone and the new AppleTV

[Philip @ Jan 9th 2007 4:51PM]

I was going to say, too, $15 for a downloaded video and that's it? Talk about a ripe off. Sad to see Apple bend to the studio demands.

[nicleT @ Jan 9th 2007 5:56PM]

Still no movie to download from iTunes Store Canada :(

[Gregg Ball @ Jan 10th 2007 2:09PM]

iTunes Movies / TV shows still not available in the UK. Make iTunes global come on!!

[Matthew @ Jan 9th 2007 5:49PM]

If the iTunes movies are 4:3 aspect ratio, and the Apple TV only works with widescreen TV's, how are the 2 supposed to go together? Are we really expected to watch 4:3 movies on our widescreen TV? Who wants to watch 4:3 movies anyway?

[Adrian Porter @ Jan 10th 2007 9:25AM]

Thats great....more films....for the states.....and rest of the world still has????....oh sorry the U.K. gets a hand full of pixar short films, so generous. Come on 'apple inc' how about some featurefilms for us U.K. users before ishell out £200 fo iTV.

[Ray-- @ Jan 9th 2007 4:46PM]

too bad its also official that Viacom's Paramount Pictures' movies are also available from the store and come with no DRM a physical disk backup (so once you load it into your HDD you have the disk as backup). For 5 bucks more i dont know what idiot would download something like this....

yay apple?

[eh @ Jan 9th 2007 4:49PM]

Forest Gump:
$9.99 - iTunes, all the DRM you can handle, amazingly slow Quicktime format, crappy quality

$7.99 - Amazon, Collector's Edition DVD

hmm.

[Jon @ Jan 9th 2007 5:13PM]

Are these available in HighDef?

[Ray-- @ Jan 9th 2007 5:19PM]

"Are these available in HighDef?"

you know this is on an iPod right?

[caleb @ Jan 9th 2007 5:31PM]

Its not as obvious an answer as it might seem. The 5th gen iPod screen resolution is 320x240, but iTunes video downloads are 640x480. They playback on your iPod at 320x240, but if you yous the video output of your iPod to a regular TV the resolution is played back at the full 640x480. This is also the case if you play it back on your computer or via Front Row to your television. With the announcement that the Apple TV (With incidentally is listed on Apples site as an iPod) will playback 720p it is not unforeseeable that the videos wouldn't be downloaded in HD. If anyone knows the actual answer, I'll be listening.

[Mike @ Jan 9th 2007 10:53PM]

Can you guys please refrain from slaughtering the movie titles and just get off your asses and write the whole title. it's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan!!!

[L. M. Lloyd @ Jan 10th 2007 4:49PM]

Actually, the agreement was only for back catalog titles. Paramount still refuses to give Apple the discount they want for new releases. So, there won't be any Paramount new releases, and pretty much all of the titles will be available cheaper on DVD.