By Paul Erickson, Director DVD and HD Market Research

Recently, the entertainment and technology media have been abuzz over the implications of the significant announcement by Apple that iTunes would now offer day and date releases of movie titles in conjunction with their regular release on DVD. The deal involves most of the major studios in Hollywood, and marks the first time that a single online or broadband-enabled source of paid movie content has had both broad studio support as well as day and date releases.

Conservatively, one may look at previous attempts to sell movies over the internet (or broadband, more specifically), and view this deal with a bit of skepticism. Earlier efforts, some with proprietary set-top boxes, either failed or generated lackluster sales. Many of the hindrances that existed then continue to exist now—dependency on broadband penetration; limited ways to watch content (e.g. PC or proprietary set-top); real-time options that involve less waiting (such as the local video store or cable VOD) and so on. Continue Reading