Content is King movie studios eyeing Connected Society solutions like Apple iTunes rentals
Through our thematic lens, we see this as Content is King meeting the Connected Society, a theme that has led to much creative destruction over the last several years. With Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN) and now even Apple (AAPL) moving into proprietary content that is streamed to wherever and whenever consumers want, perhaps it’s about time the movie studios ranging from Sony (SNE) to Disney (DIS) and 21st Century Fox (FOXA) get on board. Should it come to pass, it will smack Regal Cinema (RGC), AMC (AMC) and other movie theater businesses right in the high margin snack business. We suspect the Cash-strapped Consumer is hoping for such a move to happen.
Movie studios looking to set up early-access rentals with companies like Apple and Comcast may reportedly push ahead with those negotiations and skip revenue sharing with theater chains, if the latter don’t reduce their demands.Early-access rentals would let people stream movies through services like iTunes just weeks after their premieres, possibly while they’re still in theaters. To appease exhibitors, studios have discussed a revenue split, but balked at proposed long-term commitments up to 10 years, according to Bloomberg sources. For the end customer, early rentals would likely cost between $30 and $50.
Source: Movie studios may sidestep theater chains in deals for early Apple iTunes rentals
