Apple said this evening its iTunes online music store would begin selling movies from Walt Disney's Disney, Pixar, Touchstone and Miramax divisions as the iconic company makes it most aggressive move yet into the digital home.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs also said the company plans to ship a device in the first quarter 2007 that will allow consumers to stream movies, music, photos, podcasts and television shows to their home entertainment systems. The device, code-named iTV, will cost $299.
Speaking at a event in San Francisco, Jobs said newly-released movies would cost $12.99 if pre-ordered or bought during the first week available. Library titles would cost $9.99, Jobs said at the event, where the company also introduced new versions of its iPod digital music devices.
He said there are about 75 films now available for purchase on iTunes and they would take about 30 minutes each to download for those using a high-speed Internet connection.
"In less than one year we've grown from offering just five TV shows to offering over 220 TV shows, and we hope to do the same with movies" Jobs said. "iTunes is selling over 1 million videos a week, and we hope to match that with movies in less than a year."
Mr Jobs is a Disney director and one of the company's largest individual shareholders.
Analysts have said it was only a matter of time before Apple started selling full-length movie downloads via iTunes. The company already has sold millions of songs on iTunes, as well as television shows.
If Apple's efforts are ultimately successful, the company could solve the entertainment industry's current dilemma: how to bridge the gap between the living room television and the computer.
CinemaNow, Movielink and Amazon.com already offer movies for download to computers and it would not be like Apple simply to sell a competing product by adding full-length feature films to its iTunes store, analysts have said.