Wal-Mart vs. iTunes…who will win?
Wal-Mart has just finished striking a deal with six major hollywood studios in order to be able to offer video downloads on their web site. Some may contend that they will never have enough power to shake Apple’s iTunes from their position as the online video king, especially now that the Apple TV, which allows consumers to watch their downloaded movies on their TV sets, is on its way.
But Wal-Mart’s deal may actually be able to pack a heavy punch. Why? They have more studios backing them than other companies. Not only that, but they already dominate a major portion of the retail DVD market and are promising competitive pricing (as usual).
Who will win? Well, that depends. In my opinion, there’s still a large consumer base who is not devoted to iTunes (like me) who may consider other options if available and, of course, cheaper. Other services, like Amazon’s video service, require you to watch movies on your computer using their special software. If these movies were DRM-free and I could burn them to DVD, I’d be hooked. But what are the odds of the MPAA allowing that? Slim-to-none.
[via CNet]
