Apple, Fox planning movie rental deal: reports
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Apple Inc and News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox are set to announce a deal that will allow consumers to rent movies through Apple's digital iTunes Store, media reports said on Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - Talk about the coming iPhone and AppleTV deviceÂ dominated the discussion with the chief financial officer of AppleÂ at an investment conference in San Francisco Tuesday. Peter Oppenheimer, appearing at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference, declined to give specific unit sales forecasts for the new products but anticipated they will be strong. IDG News Service monitored the event via Webcast. "AppleTV will change the way people gather and purchase their digital content," said Oppenheimer of the $299 AppleTV, due out later this month. It is a set-top box that delivers digital content stored on a computer, including video purchased from Apple's iTunes online store, to a TV. However, the usefulness of the AppleTV may be tied to the amount of video content available on iTunes. Today, he said, 400 movies and 350 TV programs are available for downloads, with more added all the time. He said Apple recently reached agreements with film distributors Paramount Pictures and Lion's Gate Entertainment to sell downloads of their movies on iTunes. The much-anticipated Apple iPhone is scheduled to hit the market in June. The iPhone, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced at Macworld in January, features anÂ innovative touch-screen interfaceÂ on a combination phone, iPod, and e-mail and Internet access device. It will sell for $499 or $599 depending on storage capacity, and will require a two-yearÂ contract with Cingular Wireless, the mobile division of AT&T. He declined to comment specifically on a March 1 report from Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty, who interviewed him at the conference, in which she raised her forecast for 2007 iPhone sales to 8 million from an earlier forecast of 6 million, based on a survey of 2,500 U.S. customers. "Half the demand is coming from the traditional high-end handset market and half from Apple's customer base," Huberty said. While not commenting on the forecast, Oppenheimer said the iPhone will be a "breakthrough product." "Though Apple is new to the mobile phone market, we believe the addressable market will grow quickly," he said. In itsÂ last quarterly earnings reportÂ on Jan. 17, Apple posted net income of $1 billion, or $1.14 per share, on revenue of $7.1 billion for the three months ended Dec. 30, 2006. Analysts forecast Apple to earn $0.62 per share on revenue of $5.16 billion in the current quarter, according to a consensus estimate produced by Thomson Financial. In a 40-minute conversation with Huberty, including questions from other analysts in the audience, Oppenheimer did not discuss theÂ stock options scandal at Apple. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco are investigating whether Apple improperly accounted for and disclosed the backdating of options. No charges have been filed. Â
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By MAY WONG Associated Press  Video:  Apple Bites Into Online Movies     Initially, only Walt Disney Co. productions are being offered.   SAN FRANCISCO -- Seeking to push digital media further into homes, Apple Computer Corp.
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Movie-rental company Blockbuster Inc.  is in advanced talks to acquire Movielink LLC, an online movie-downloading company owned by the major Hollywood studios, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
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Apple and News Corp. have signed an agreement to offer Twentieth Century Fox movies for rent through the iTunes...
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Apple Inc. is planning to launch an online movie rental service by fall, although the company is meeting resistance from some Hollywood studios concerned about piracy, people familiar with the plan told The Associated Press on Monday.
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Apple Inc  and Twentieth  Century Fox are set to announce a deal that will allow  consumers to rent Fox movies through Apple's digital iTunes  Store, according to media reports on Thursday.
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A reported tiff between the label and Apple could signal a new negotiating stance.
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Rumor has it that Apple will announce a super-slim laptop and online movie rentals at its Macworld conference next week.
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A deal between Facebook and either  Google Inc  or Microsoft Corp  is expected to  be announced in the next 24 to 48 hours, The New York Post  reported on its Web site on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.
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Microsoft Corp. may try to strike a deal with Japan's Sony Corp. in an effort to compete with Apple Computer Inc. in the digital music arena, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
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Time Warner Inc.'s New Line Cinema  unit is expected to announce on Wednesday a $350 million  film-financing deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc,  The Wall Street Journal reported.
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Blockbuster Inc. is in talks to buy movie download service Movielink, including long-term contracts with Hollywood's major studios to supply films and TV shows, for under $50 million in cash and stock, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.
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Rumors are abound that Apple will release a movie rental service on iTunes.  And as Don Reisinger points out, the company should do it as soon as possible.
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iTunes users might soon be able to download Fox movies, and Apple could also be ready to reverse its stance on licensing its FairPlay DRM, according to reports.
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A California judge plans to order  Apple Inc  to turn over company board-meeting minutes  and records relating to stock options accounting to an  investor, according to a newspaper report on Tuesday.
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Shares of Blockbuster Inc. plunged nearly 17 percent on Tuesday after a new threat emerged to the world's largest chain of movie-rental stores: Apple Inc. announced it now offers movie downloads via iTunes.