By Michael Greeson, CEO, Co-Founder of The Diffusion Group
According to a June 19 article in Variety, Apple is in active negotiations with a number of major Hollywood studios to add movie downloads to its iTunes media store and begin offering the new service by year?s end. While much of the focus has been on the rumored pricing model and ongoing negotiations, only a few observers have tapped into the larger story ? that is, the impact of Apple?s move on the entire online movie download model. Will iTunes do for online movies what it did for online music? Does Apple?s entry into this space represent a ?tipping point? for the entire segment, or is such an outcome even relevant to Apple? In other words, is this simply the next step in Apple?s larger strategy to establish a presence in living room?
