Target sells 15% of the DVDs in the United States.
“Now, the company thinks it is getting a raw deal compared to certain music download services that get a better financial arrangement from the big studios,” Douglas McIntyre writes for Blogging Stocks. “The complaint seems to target Apple Computer Inc. as much as any other company. Disney Co. has recently concluded a deal with Apple to download movies for iPods. The price? $12.99 per film. This is several dollars below what DVD retailers have to charge.”
McIntyre writes, “Disney is a logical culprit in all of this. Steve Jobs sits on the Disney board and is the company’s largest individual shareholder. So, why does Apple get such a great deal on Disney content? Everyone loves a lawsuit, and, if the large retailers think they have been wronged and Disney does nothing, court might be a fun place to get it resolved. Did anyone say antitrust?”
Full article here.
Seeing as there is nothing physical, no packaging, etc. it ‘s only logical that iTunes downloads should cost less than physical media sold in places like Target.
Related articles:
Report: Apple and Wal-Mart in discussions over iTunes Store alliance – September 29, 2006
Wal-Mart: we’re not fighting iTunes Store movie downloads – September 23, 2006
Wal-Mart threatens retaliation against Hollywood studios if they sell movies via Apple’s iTunes – September 22, 2006
Wal-Mart not happy with looming threat of Apple iTunes movie downloads – August 31, 2006
I own Target stock, as well as Apple’s. I do hope there’s no lawsuits!
just trying to preserve their bowl of rice. Who would buy from iTunes if the price were the same as a dvd. The studios have to sign on, or face increasing piracy. If most of them stick together there is not much the targets of the world can do. You can bet that Target leverages their possition to undercut it’s competition. How’s the shoe feel on the other foot?
Lower quality than DVDs. No packaging like DVDs. Can’t be resold or given away like DVDs. No bonus content like DVDs.
If anything, iTS should sell movies for even less.
Target = Mediocre and Bizarro
Best Buy = Substandard Idiocy
Wal•Mart = White Trash Bargain Basement Craptacular
Hey, at least they don’t play any sh-t muzak in Target. So, I vote Target.
(Plus, the SNL Target skits are moderately funny.)
So, yaah, Target it is.
Antitrust?? Does Disney have a monopoly on movies? Does Apple aready have a monopoly on movie downloads? Do lower prices hurt consumers? Only if lower prices puts the other companies out of business a la Rockefeller so that prices can eventually go up.
The iTunes movie downloads are lower quality, have no DVD extras, and to date cannot easily be played on a television, nor written to a physical DVD. What the hell does Target expect? Of course the prices are lower. Morons.
totally agree with thelt. iTunes movies are a total rip off at their current price.
Apparently, Apple gets better prices Amazon for their download service. This might be a legitimate complaint.
So DVD retailers “have to charge” more than $12.99?
Because why???
Because they make more money that way. No other reason. Most DVD’s can already be purchased for much less from Amazon (and many other sources, most likely). If retailers get to cry “foul” because internet prices are lower, then we’d better dismantle the entire worldwide web this very day! Who cares about progress? Heaven forbid that Target or WalMart should make less profit!
That guy is a ‘tard. But I do like Target’s commercials.
No manufacturing, inventory control, returns, theft, distirbution, or physical media to buy – plus it is “new” and therefore needs to be at a competetive price to warrant trying it.
Screw you, Cheese in a Tube!
Best Buy WRAWKS!!!!!!!
You can keep your Stepford-like Target freaks and their stupid red blouses, you flatulent cretin.
And stick your WalMart elitism up your pigu while you’re at it.
I love Cheez WHiz and I love dollar deals.
I don’t see how DVD sales are going to be hurt by the on-line movie sales. I have no intention of ever buying an on-line movie. Not enough bandwidth to supply a high quality recording and I’d much rather pay $2 – $3 more for a commercial DVD and case. It’s much easier to sort through them and not a hassle to let family and friends borrow them.
On-line music downloads make sense but movie downloads just can’t compete with commercial DVD’s especially as we move to HD content.
Target….Tower as in Tower Records…..humm it kinda rhymes.
Target sells DVDs everywhere from $15.99 to $29.99 depending on popularity and special features. I’m not certain I see what they have to complain about.
Apple sells just the movie—no media, no deleted scenes, no extras, nada. Besides from the extra cost of producing physical media; I’d assume the difference between $12.99 and $19.99 also have to do with extras.
$5-$10 difference isn’t necessarily going to stop me from buying, if I want those items. Of course, it will when I don’t want those items.
The problem is DVDs use to be much cheaper and Walmart, Target or none of the other major retailers seemed to put up much of a complaint when movie studios raised the price from $9.99 a DVD to $19.99 a DVD. But, now that one company is saying “no” to the ridiculous pricing schemes of movie studios; everyone else is up in arms.
I’ve got to say, these people really, really hate the American Consumer. They tell us prices double or more of what they use to be, a scant 3-5 years ago are cheap; then expect us to pay more for less, just so they can keep doing business as usual. I say GROW-UP.
When I walk into Target, and see a good, but not so popular show like Numb3rs Season 1 DVD set selling for over $50.00 (and season one was only 13 episodes), of course I’m going to head to iTunes, where I can get the episodes for $2 each. Same with movies. Even at discount stores like Target and Wal-Mart these items are just overpriced.
Hell, as much as I love iTunes, I think the cost for movies there are slightly overpriced as well. $9.99 is a good price for movies without extras. $5.99 or $6.99 for older movies. That said, $12.99 is still reasonable, even if it qualifies as overprice.
Hey, “Cheese In A Tube,” otherwise known as “Shit On A Stick” . . .
I’m a multimillionaire in Colorado that shops at Wal-Mart at least a couple of times a month. (Target a couple of times a year, and Best Buy never). Your condescension in the above comment is shockingly transparent and an obvious attempt to compensate for innate inferiority set upon you by your mother and father (brother and sister, probably).
Back away from your Dell and get back to polishing your tooth. Your mouth AND the world will be better places for your redireced focus and efforts.
I don’t get it. I can get a new movie release from Circuit City for $13.99 for the first week of its release.
$12.99 for a iTunes movie that one has to spend a couple of hours downloading then to burn the movie (I don’t know if this is allowed or if the movie is DVD quality)doesn’t sound like much of a bargian.
Picking a DVD for $13.99 when the movie first comes out gives you more product for your dollar.
He’s trying to make it sound like it’s an exclusive deal with Disney when Apple is offering the same price to all the other studios for the lower quality warehouse and shipping free downloads.
If the other studios are too stupid to not make millions of dollars with the iTunes store, (or caved in to illegal pressure by Wal-Mart and Target) that’s their fault.
“Apparently, Apple gets better prices Amazon for their download service. This might be a legitimate complaint.” – tank
No. Apple gets its movies from Disney and no others. Amazon gets its movies from others but not Disney. There is no overlap there and there is no preferential treatments at all. Studios can set their prices and compete for customers. It’s when Disney and other must have the same price that you have a collusion to keep prices artificially high (records labels got sued for this and must settle by paying back their customers), which is illegal.
Movies from Apple are no bargain but I like buying TV shows sometimes.
If I were going to be buying DVDs I’d be buying the $5 to $8 ones at Walmart, everything will pass through these bins eventually.
If nobody bought the expensive DVDs (or records) there would be none, everything would be $5 to $8 because it had to be that cheap in order to sell it.
Apple movies seem pricey considering you get no backup media and have a limited platform for playback.
Anti-Trust, let’s mention these companies-
Wal-Mart
Microsoft
AT&T (the new one)
Comcast
Time-Warner
General Electric
Clear Channel
Gannett
among others
I would much prefer that iTunes offered a subscription service a la NetFlix (which is what I use now, I don’t buy or rent from locals).
I like having a permanent collection of music, but I’m not interested in filling up shelf or disk space with video that I probably will only watch once every few years.
The iTunes price is too high for what you get compared to the physical DVD. Give me a 3 movie / week subscription for $20/month and I’ll drop Netflix in a heartbeat (but iTunes needs the same variety as Netflix also).
I no longer shop at Wal Mart, where I live their clientelle is increasingly (pick your social group) trash. The operative word is trash and most of the people I know agree with me. The environment and shopping experience at Target is far superior and worth a few cents extra.
In related news, telegraph operators across the world are preparing to bring a class action lawsuit against telephone companys.
Do Mom & Pop video stores get to sue Target & Wal-mart for undercutting the price they can sell for?
Didn’t think so.
I wonder why VHS doesn’t cost as much as DVD.