Despite rumors of an upcoming iTunes-based movie rental service, many movie studio executives are worried that the Apple TV could give Apple the same advantage in negotiations with their industry as the iPod does in the music industry. Concerns over this issue are part of what has kept most of the major studios from signing deals to sell their films on the iTunes Store, as is the fear of Apple’s pricing on new releases causing bigger retailers such as Wal-Mart to retaliate by slashing prices on new DVDs.
“As a long-term business matter, Apple has to get all the studios feeling good about the product and what they’re doing with iTunes,” said Gartner Inc. analyst Mike McGuire.
Currently, only The Walt Disney Company offers new releases for sale on the store.
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