Movies have finally made their way to the New Zealand iTunes Store. As of today Kiwis can rent or buy from a selection of over 700 new and back catalogue films directly from the internet.
While North Americans and some European territories have enjoyed legal movie downloads via iTunes (and indeed other sources such as Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network) for some time now, Kiwis have been stuck in the 20th century having to get our movie fix from traditional sources, so this move by Apple represents a major step forward when it comes to the oh-so tricky world of international distribution agreements. As it stands Apple has managed to get most of the big studios onboard meaning the local iTunes store can carry films from 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros, MGM, Sony Pictures and Lionsgate.
Buying movies costs $24.99 for new releases, $17.99 for recent releases and $9.99 for back catalogue stuff.
Renting movies costs $6.99 for new releases and $4.99 for older flicks.
High definition versions are available for an extra $1 and Apple say over 100 of the 700 total movies on offer can be bought in HD.
Movie rentals expire 30 days after you download it or 48 hours after you start playing it for the first time. After you start playing it you can watch it as many times as you like during that 48 period until it expires.
As with overseas iTunes Movie Stores the content is copy protected and can only be played back via iTunes or on an iPod, iPhone or Apple TV device.
No sign of TV shows making their way to the local iTunes Store and given the complexity of local distribution deals with companies like TVNZ, Sky and TV3, we don't imagine they'll be here anytime soon. We'll keep you posted though.
No comments:
Post a Comment