James Delahunty
11 Mar 2006 17:59
Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. is reportedly in talks with major Hollywood studios about selling their content as downloads online. Sources say the company wants to create a store to sell movies and TV shows for consumers to own, not just to rent. Last month, it was revealed Amazon was also in talks with major music labels to bring about a service which would aim take a bite out of the market which is currently dominated by Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes service.
Amazon's service would differ from that of MovieLink, as MovieLink is essentially a rental service but Amazon aims to sell content to consumers to own. No details on the possible cost of a major Hollywood movie or TV show were revealed. Amazon is reportedly close to reaching a deal with at least three major studios. The company's reputation, millions of consumers and other services could help make its store a huge success.
IMDB.com is owned by Amazon, and in February the site boasted more than 15 million unique users. Amazon would use this site to draw movie fans to the download store to buy the content.
Source:
Reuters