World of Apple

iTunes Store: Movies Page

Apple today updated their iTunes Store with a nice new facelift and some very nice features.

Name Change

The first change is regarding the name - the iTunes Music Store is now just referred to as the ‘iTunes Store.’ Clearly with added extra content, the name ‘iTunes Music Store’ was no longer fitting. This name change first became apparent this afternoon.

Hollywood Movies. Now in iTunes

As was much anticipated, Apple also updated iTunes today with the addition selling Hollywood movies in the store. The videos will be available at a ‘near-DVD’ resolution of 640×480 and will share the same usage rights as iTunes TV Shows. The pricing for movies on iTunes is as follows:

Older Movies: $9.99
New Movies: $14.99 (although if you pre-order, or order during the first week of release you can get them for just $12.99)

Movies carry Apple’s FairPlay DRM, and it’s currently unkown whether these movies are burnable to DVD, however it seems highly unlikely. Apple mentioned they would like to make movie downloads internationally available in 2007, however there are no guarantees this will happen.

Apple commented there are 75 movies available for purchase & download at launch, all from Disney-owned studios. More movies will be added ‘every week’.

iPod Games
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Apple also unexpectedly added an ‘iPod Games’ department to the iTunes Store today. The store currently stocks a selection of 9 games available for purchase and downloads, which can be played on any 5G iPod. The games retail for $4.99/£3.99. The initial selection of games is as follows:

• Bejeweled
• Cubis 2
• Mahjong
• Mini Golf
• Pac-Man
• Tetris
• Texas Hold’em
• Vortex
• Zuma

Cosmetic Changes

Alongside these major updates, Apple also included some cosmetic changes to the iTunes Store, designed to match the new iTunes graphical style.

iTunes 7 with Cover Flow

At today’s media event Apple announced an update to its popular music jukebox software. Of note the iTunes Music Store has been renamed to iTunes Store to coincide with the addition of sales of movies.

The following changes are present across iTunes 7 and the iTunes Store:

• Cover Flow - allows navigation through album art
• iPod Games - Games available to purchase for $4.99
• Movies - Movies available to purchase at a resolution of 640 x 480px, as expected only movies from Disney (Pixar, Miramax, Touchstone) are available.

AppleInsider in an artice citing unnamed sourcesis reporting that Apple will begin selling movie downloads through the iTunes Music Store.

New release movies will be sold for $14.99 and older movies will sell for $9.99 despite efforts by Steve Jobs to sell all movies at a price of $9.99.

So far, the only company that has plans to release downloadable movie content from the outset it Walt Disney Corp./Pixar Studios.

No information is yet available on if this service will accompany the release of a new iPod nor has Apple commented on the rumors of the release date.

ABC News today added programming to the iTunes Music Store including:

ABC News Specials, Celebrity Flashback, The Day it Happened, LAPD, UFOs, Legend of Pope Joan and much more.

Celebrity Flashback includes interviews with Steve Spielberg, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones and more.

The Day it Happened features original content of major historic events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Space Shuttle Challenge Disaster.

Apple has added a page to the US iTunes Music Store that lists 14 videos available for free download from a variety of TV networks.

Free TV Episodes available on iTunes

Some shows include “Blade: The Series,” “Project Runway,” “30 Days,” “Psych,” “Prison Break,” “Who Wants to Be a Superhero?” and “Tabloid Wars.”

Nordic consumer regulators are set to meet in Iceland on the 24th August to discuss possible legal action against Apple.

The meeting is set to discuss whether a lawsuit should be filed against Apple if the company refuses to lift DRM restrictions on iTunes tracks.

Today Apple announced that the iTunes Music Store in Europe has sold over 200 million songs in just 2 years since its release in the UK, France and Germany in 2004.

“The number of songs downloaded and purchased from the iTunes Music Stores in Europe have tripled in the past year from 50 million to 200 million,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We’re thrilled that music fans in Europe have shown such enthusiasm for the artists and exclusive music content found only on iTunes and would like to thank them for making iTunes such a success.”

Yesterday Apple and Coca-Cola announced a partnership that would result in 70 million songs being given away.

The new Coca-Cola Music website is the main feature of the promotion with complete iTunes integration.

In the UK, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, unsigned artists will be encouraged to upload tracks that will vie to be featured in the artists highlights and podcasts available on iTunes, as well as to receive invitations to perform at Coke-sponsored music festivals.

Starting in August in the UK song codes with be available on promo packs of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke resulting in 70 million songs being given away for free.

In September in Germany, Coca-Cola will be giving away an iPod and 50 iTunes tracks every hour for eight weeks.

Turner Broadcasting System Inc. has today announced with Apple that popular programming from CNN, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network is available for purchase on the iTunes Music Store.

“Fans will enjoy this innovative way of purchasing and watching their favorite CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim shows from iTunes,” said Dennis Quinn, executive vice president, business development, TBS, Inc. “We’re delivering a variety of hit programming from three of our wildly popular networks, with shows for everyone of all ages.”

“With Turner’s wide range of content available on iTunes, users now can download programming from CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “With well over 150 TV shows available for $1.99 per episode, iTunes is the leading destination for downloading network and cable programming.”

CNN, the world’s news leader, will provide original episodes of “CNN Presents,” including “Taming the Beast: Inside the War on Cancer,” “The Fight Over Faith” and “Captured: Inside the Army’s Secret School.” Drawing from the world’s largest cartoon library, Cartoon Network will provide episodes from the network’s series “Johnny Bravo” (season one). Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s late night sister service dedicated to edgy animated comedy and action series, will provide episodes from original productions, including “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “The Venture Bros.,” and “Sealab 2021” (season three).

Today E! Entertainment and Apple announced a partnership whereby Apple will distribute hit content from E! Entertainment via the iTunes Music Store.

“This new partnership underscores our commitment to our E! Everywhere initiative, making E! content available to viewers on multiple platforms and on demand,” said Ted Harbert, president and CEO, E! Entertainment. “We’re delighted to pursue this new programming opportunity with iTunes, allowing us to further expand the E! brand and reach even more entertainment fans.”

“We’re thrilled to expand our growing video catalog with this original content from E! Entertainment Television,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “With over 35 million videos sold, iTunes provides the best way for fans to discover, purchase and download video online.”

Season two of “The Girls Next Door” debuts on E! on July 30, taking viewers beyond the gates and behind closed doors to reveal the world of Hugh Hefner and his three girlfriends Holly, Bridget and Kendra, as it has never been seen before. The premiere episode will also be available to purchase and download on iTunes on July 31. “The Simple Life: ‘Til Death Do Us Part” follows the lives of Paris and Nicole as they undergo a crash course in marriage and motherhood, while “Dr. 90210” takes viewers inside the offices and homes of high profile Beverly Hills plastic surgeons. Past season episodes of “The Simple Life,” “The Girls Next Door” and “Dr. 90210” are also immediately available for purchase and download.