Apple TV: What of other studios? (THR, DH, LAT, TW)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Although Steve Jobs on Wednesday said he had hopes for "other studios to see the light," don't expect rival studios to join Disney and News Corp. for Apple's 99-cent TV rental offering anytime soon, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Wednesday's Apple announcement said that Fox, ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel series that are owned by the networks (as well as BBC America shows) will be available for rent on Apple devices for 99 cents per episode for a trial period of several months, with up to 30 days for the viewer to start watching the rented episode and then 48 hours to finish or watch multiple times, Deadline explains. (Apple TV will also rent first-run movies for $4.99 and work with Netflix' online service.)

The 99-cent price tag represents a steep discount from the TV episodes already offered on iTunes and multiple executives told THR it was an unacceptable devaluation of the content.

Further, TV execs are concerned that offering commercial-free versions of a TV episode for just 99 cents will gut sales of DVDs, The Los Angeles Times points out.

One studio chief drew a comparison between the new arrangement and the damage done to the music industry when Apple began its singles-centric approach on iTunes.

"If we head down this path, we're starting down the same slippery slope where the music business went," the executive told THR.

Although Apple is touting the inclusion of Disney and News Corp., the holdouts are hoping their absence from iTunes rentals will weaken it.

Jobs is the largest individual shareholder and a board member of Disney, so the studio's involvement here is no surprise. News Corp. coming to the party, however, was more surprising, leading some to speculate that the deal might include some additional concessions by Apple, possibly involving its iPad platform, Deadline said.

Late Wednesday, Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment for Fox Networks, issued a statement applauding the Apple TV initiative: "We're always looking to explore innovative and creative ways to reach and engage our viewers on digital platforms, which makes Apple a perfect partner."

The downside of Apple's rental model was recognized on Wall Street, according to THR, where Evercore Partners analyst Alan Gould noted: "We recognize the studios have to provide a reasonably priced online version of their content or illegal downloads will become pervasive. However, that does not mean the studios have to provide the product at a long-term money-losing price."

Still, content creators will benefit if Apple is able to expand the nascent business for distribution of legitimate, non6pirated, digital content in the home, the LAT said.

"The studios or content owners know they get more revenue through DVD rentals," media analyst Paul Verna said. "On the other hand, the DVD business is dwindling. I think this is a recognition of that," he told the LAT.

The Wrap contends, however, that the 99-cent rentals "represent neither an existential threat to the industry nor the future of the medium."

Meanwhile, Sony yesterday announced that it will begin rolling out its video- and music-streaming service, Qriocity, in five European countries this fall. Qriocity, which has been available in the US since April of this year, will be rolled out in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK and be available via Sony's Bravia TVs, PlayStation 3 consoles, Blu-ray DVD players and Vaio personal computers.

The company had originally announced in November that it was developing a network service platform called Sony Online Services, which is now called Qriocity (pronounced "curiosity").

Amir Anvarzadeh, of BGC Partners told Bloomberg that given Apple's big Wednesday announcement, "Sony's unveiling of its Qriocity digital content platform could have been better timed. Potential for Qriocity's halo effect looks very limited."

Sony's VOD service has a catalog of hundreds of film titles from studios such as 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lionsgate, MGM, Disney, NBC Universal International Television Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, Paramount and top local studios. The company didn’t give pricing details.