Apple and Hollywood negotiate movie rental plan at least 17 days later than theaters

Hollywood studios are considering whether to ignore opposition from cinemas and press ahead with a plan to offer digital rentals just weeks after the new film is released in theaters.

Hollywood studios are considering whether to ignore opposition from cinemas and press ahead with a plan to offer digital rentals just weeks after the new film is released in theaters, according to people familiar with the matter.

large studios such as Warner Bros. and Universal Studios are in talks with Apple, Comcast and other companies, hoping to press ahead with the plan even without the involvement of cinemas. After months of negotiations, no agreement has been reached to "build a paid movie download product for $30 to $50 in a mutually beneficial manner".

with the exception of Disney, major Hollywood studios are eager to launch a new product to make up for the decline in DVD and other home entertainment sales in the Netflix era. Studios have discussed revenue sharing for paid video-on-demand (PVOD) with cinemas. However, the cinema line's request for a 10-year revenue-sharing agreement was rejected by the studio.

according to people familiar with the matter, the studio will reach an agreement with potential distributors such as Apple and Comcast as soon as early next year to provide digital downloads of the new film as soon as two weeks after its release in theaters. Comcast is also the largest cable provider in the United States and the parent company of Universal Pictures.

this agreement is also an ultimatum issued by the studio to the cinema chain, either to make a deal or to sell digital movie downloads. Studios can also fight back by boycotting new films that are ready to be downloaded digitally after their release in theaters.

shares of all three major cinema chains in the United States fell on Friday. AMC shares fell as much as 8.4 per cent, Imperial Entertainment Group fell 5.4 per cent and Cinemark Holdings shares fell 3.2 per cent.

however, negotiations are continuing. The terms of the contract negotiated between each studio and other cinemas are different. Some of the negotiations focused on releasing digital downloads about 17 days after the new film was released in theaters, priced at about $50, and the price for digital downloads four to six weeks after the film's release would be reduced to $30, according to people familiar with the matter. Another possibility is to try the release window for downloading digital movies overseas and then try it in the United States. The United States is the world's largest market for home entertainment.

Last year, Bloomberg first reported that studios had negotiated with Apple to offer paid movie downloads, with prices ranging from $25 to $50 each.

Edit: mary