Wednesday, June 28,2006 @ 11:05am
iTunes movie downloads to falter?
A new poll suggests that most internet consumers are uninterested in purchasing movies online for $9.99. Apple has been lobbying Hollywood to offer full-length movies via its iTunes Music Store, asking for fixed-rate pricing of $9.99 per movie in an effort to replicate the simple pricing structure of its musical offerings. The question posed in the iTWire online poll read: "Would you pay $9.99 for a movie download?" The response sample totaled fewer than 300 people, and while 19.4 percent of those queried answered yes, a majority of 80.6 percent said they would not pay just under $10 for a movie download. Hollywood is resisting Apple's attempts to negotiate flat-rate pricing for movie downloads. The Cupertino-based company proved victorious over record labels with music pricing on iTunes in the recent past, but movie companies must maintain relationships with cinema chains.