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iTunes Replay launch reportedly still far off
We've heard before that Apple may be working on a service for iTunes called "Replay," sort of a Netflix Watch Instantly-style service that lets you download and stream any movies or TV shows that you've purchased from iTunes. Obviously, with the iCloud infrastructure in place (and iTunes Match already announced and on the way out), it's not too big a stretch to see that actually happening. But if such a deal is underway, the latest reports say it won't be available for a while. CNET says it has been poking around film studios about such a deal, and at least six different major studios have yet to sign agreements for a service like this. Apple has indeed been trying to chase down agreements that would allow customers to stream purchased movies any time, but those agreements aren't done deals, and they'll need to be before this thing gets off the ground. The biggest sticking point seems to be a few older agreements with HBO and streaming service UltraViolet, which allow for some exclusive periods where only those companies can host digital downloads. Apple is probably willing to pay to unlock those periods, but studios aren't in any position to make deals happen fast -- they'd rather see demand (and thus prices) go up. At any rate, if Apple does want to make iTunes Replay happen, it still has at least one tough nut to crack here. [via iPodNN]
Apple reportedly readying Replay service for streaming iTunes purchase history
According to AppAdvice, Apple may be prepping a new re-downloading and streaming service called iTunes Replay. The service would let you re-download select movies and TV shows from iTunes and stream that content to a variety of iOS devices. The Replay service will supposedly let you access shows that you purchased as for back as 2009 and will stream them to your Apple TV and iOS devices. Similar to Amazon Unbox, the number of downloads may vary from clip to clip and may be limited in number. This isn't the first time we've encountered this rumor; bits and pieces of it have been floating around since 2009. The only difference now is that with iCloud, Apple may have the underlying infrastructure in place to host such a streaming service.
Apple prepping iTunes Replay on-demand streaming service?
Probably more than any other facet of Apple, we've seen rumor after rumor regarding iTunes fade away in the sunset. Of course, many of those delightful plans were likely shot down by the likes of the MPAA, RIAA and other so-called content guardians, but we say all that in order to depress your hopes on this one. For whatever it's worth, an undisclosed source at CNET has confirmed an AppleInsider report that Cupertino is prepping an on-demand video streaming service for the next iteration of iTunes. Slated to be dubbed iTunes Replay, the service would purportedly "allow users to stream their iTunes video purchases directly from the company's servers for playback anywhere, anytime without eating up local storage." There's no denying that Netflix's Watch Instantly has been a universal hit, but that's in large part due to the firm's willingness to embed that functionality onto all sorts of devices. Is Apple planning on going toe-to-toe with the market leader via your computer and a box it still regards as a hobby? We've got our doubts, obviously.[Via CNET]
