Support Our Site
Get Better Gear!
- Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle for iPhone from Kensington, $39.99
- SigFx Energy iPhone Case Contains Smart Battery from SigFx Energy, US$69.95
- NAVIGON AG - True GPS Software for the iPhone from NAVIGON Inc., 89.99
- Tweetie 2 from atebits, $2.99
- Snood: Flawed Casual Play from Electronic Arts, US$3.99
Premier Sponsors
Top 5 Free Apps
iTunes New Music Releases
Top 5 Paid Apps
Discover New Music
- Phish
- This quasi-concept album (the only of its kind) from these Vermonters finally showcased their ability to convey a message with a studio album, whereas previously they only succeeded in doing so live.
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
- Arctic Monkeys
Get on your dancing shoes
You sexy little swine
-Arctic
- The Who
Quadrophenia is everything that Tommy wanted to be, a rock opera that told a story, but one where every song could still stand alone. It was also Pete Townshend's farewell tribute to the Mod
- Asylum Street Spankers
The Asylum Street Spankers are...well...The Spankers. Hailing from Austin, where I saw them live dozens of times, the band played entirely acousti
- Bumblebeez 81
Part white rap, part alternative, part pop, and part rock, the Bumblebeez grabbed a hold of me with "Pony Ride," and didn't let go.
This group does a marvelous job of moving seamlessly be
Reader Specials
Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!
News
Wal-Mart’s Movie Download Headache
Sunday, September 24th, 2006 at 3:00 PM - by Jeff Gamet
Back in August - before Apple launched its movie download service - reports surfaced that Wal-Mart was pressuring Hollywood studios to offer better wholesale DVD prices so that it could better compete with the iTunes Store's pending move download service. On Friday, the New York Post reported that Wal-Mart threatened the studios with retaliation if they sign on with Apple.
Wal-Mart's fear is that Apple's movie sales could cut into its lucrative DVD sales numbers. Those numbers translate into dollars for the studios, too, since Wal-Mart is responsible for a substantial portion of all DVD sales. The company is expected to account for 40 percent of the DVD movie sales for 2006.
The possibility that Wal-Mart could cut back on, or even stop selling, some movie titles may have been enough to keep most studios from signing on with Apple's iTunes Store movie download service. One unnamed studio executive is reported to have said "[Wal-Mart] threatened to hurt us in terms of buying less products."
Wal-Mart, however, said the reports are wrong. According to Reuters, the big box retailer has no intention to dissuade Hollywood executives from striking deals with Apple.
A Wal-Mart spokesperson commented "Customers want to watch movies and they want to be able to make the choice when and how they want to view them. While we recognize there are various current and potential providers of this service, we are not dissuading studios from conducting business with other providers."
It may turn out that movie download services won't have an impact on DVD movie sales. Wal-Mart's research apparently indicates that online movie buyers are not the same customers that purchase DVDs in stores.
In the end, Wal-Mart's sizable DVD sales is something that movie studios do not take lightly. Regardless of whether or not the retailer is threatening movie makers, the studios are likely to sit back and wait to see how Wal-Mart's reaction to Apple's movie download service plays out.
Recent Headlines
- Apple TV 3.0.1 Update Fixes Missing Content Bug
- Taiwan Leak Shows Verizon UTMS/CDMA iPhone for Q3 2010
- iPhone Moves Into RadioShack
- Dictionary, Dictionary, Dictionary, And More
- The Latest App Store Games: Gravity Sling, RocketBird, Ground Effect, Checkers!
- iPhone Game Developer Sued for Collecting User’s Cell Numbers
- Apple May Be Bringing RFID to the iPhone
Post Your Comments