WalMart flexes it's muscle


And Hollywood pays close attention
WalMart and Apple may end up battling over movie downloads. WalMart is already applying the muscle.

That prospect tends to send shivers through Hollywood's Gucci-toed corner offices. As the largest seller of DVDs, Wal-Mart accounts for roughly 40% of the $17 billion in DVDs that will be sold this year, a financial lifeline to big-spending studios. But now Wal-Mart's video business faces a potential threat by Steve Jobs and Apple Computer (AAPL), which in mid-September, sources tell BusinessWeek, plans to announce it will start offering movie downloads from its iTunes store.

The notion of kids running around with full-length movies on new, wider-screen iPods that Apple is expected to unveil as well is causing grief in Bentonville, according to Hollywood executives. The $312 billion a year retailer, they say, wants concessions that could include lower DVD wholesale prices.

PLAYING THE HEAVY.  With Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott assigning his point man Porter to roam the halls of major studios, skittish executives have for months delayed giving Jobs the rights to distribute their movies through his new service. The price Apple hopes to charge, now set at $14.99 for new releases and $9.99 for older movies, has risen from Jobs's initial plan to offer new flicks for $9.99, say industry insiders.

So far, Apple only has one studio signed on: Walt Disney (DIS), where Jobs is the largest shareholder following the entertainment giant's purchase of his Pixar Animation Studios. News Corp.'s (NWS) Fox Entertainment Group may join in later, as might independent Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF), say Hollywood sources, but only if other studios come along, too. So far, other large studios have taken a pass, especially after Wal-Mart earlier this year threatened not to sell Disney's High School Musical for a time after Disney released it initially only on iTunes.

The interesting thing is that no matter who wins this particular skirmish, it's likely to result in lower prices and more choices for consumers.

Additional Technorati Tags

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - September 1, 2006 at 05:02 AM  Tag


 ◊  ◊   ◊  ◊ 

Random selections from NeoWayland's library


Pagan Vigil "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black or white"
© 2005 - 2009 All Rights Reserved