It’s not just music downloads where iTunes is struggling. According to a new report, Apple’s share of the digital home video movie market has also been falling precariously in recent years — largely thanks to the rise of companies like Comcast, Amazon Video and Netflix.
From a high of over 50 percent in 2012, market share has now fallen to between 20-35 percent, with various Hollywood studios reporting a decline in iTunes’ leadership position.
Because no third parties track market share in digital movies, it’s difficult to secure exact figures, but an Apple spokesperson who spoke with the Wall Street Journal didn’t dispute the market share estimates. They did, however, point out that movie rentals and purchases increased over the past year, reaching their highest levels in more than a decade.
The problem? That while more people are downloading movies from iTunes, Apple isn’t keeping pace with other services operating in this area. Last year, total U.S. digital movie sales and rentals rose a total of 12 percent to $5.3 billion, as per PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Not too surprising
For anyone who uses iTunes, the news is hardly likely to be surprising. The rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Video have echoed the rise of streaming music services like Spotify, which have been shown to have a big impact on the traditional iTunes download model.
Apple’s Apple TV efforts have also lagged behind rivals like Comcast, which rents and sells movies through its set-top box. Comcast hasn’t yet reached Apple’s market share in the digital video market, but it is on an upwards trajectory that’s cutting into Apple’s customer base.
While Apple has launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify, it has yet to put together a cohesive strategy for taking on the likes of Netflix. Although it has dipped its toe into the water to test out original content, so far most of this has been short-form music-related content to help sell Apple Music, rather than a serious effort to appeal to movie fans.
Two promising developments involve iTunes’ offering of independent movies, and possible plans to be able to offer video-on-demand while movies are still showing in theaters — although these negotiations are still in very early stages.
How often do you buy or rent movies on iTunes? What changes (if any) do you think Apple needs to make in this area? Leave your comments below.
Source: WSJ
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
5 responses to “Comcast and Amazon Video are putting the hurt on iTunes movies”
I purchase TV and Movies all the time via iTunes – due to the fact they’re not available on any other [legal] streaming services locally (e.g. Stan or Netflix in AU). However what has started to happen recently with the likes of shows like The Walking Dead; are licensing rights that have been sold to Foxtel (Pay TV) to only show the premier episodes there – and not even make them available to purchase in iTunes until the mid-season/season final is aired. It’s bonkers and only encourages pirating. That needs to stop. Also, personally, I’d like to see Apple continue negotiating to come up with a Netflix-like service.
If I could watch my iTunes movies on my TV, without buying additional hardware or software, I would rent a lot more from iTunes. I don’t enjoy watching movies on my computer or tablet. Amazon and Netflix have apps that let me watch on my smart TV, PS4, or DVD player with no hassles.
When I buy digital media from Amazon, I share it with my wife’s Amazon account (and she shares hers with mine). Apple’s “family” plan is not nearly as friendly. We can’t even share iCloud space to back up our phones without messing up “Find my friends”.
I think I would see some movies, but I only have MacBook and cant play iTunes on my TV.
I don’t quite understand why Apple refuses to compete with Amazon or Netflix by providing streaming movies. Apple should be able to cut deals with content providers as well as any other company. Apple has plenty of spare cash to keep a steady flow of movies. What is holding up Apple from doing what most companies can easily do? Is it that Apple doesn’t yet have a good enough infrastructure for streaming movies? Apple keeps building all these massive data centers but what the heck are they being used for? There has to be some reason Apple isn’t doing streaming movies but they’re just not telling anyone. I get so sick of hearing about how Apple can’t compete with this company or that company. It just sounds so stupid. I have Amazon Prime so I watch those movies or TV shows. That’s good enough for me. I have an i7 MacMini hooked up to my HDTV so I could watch iTunes movies if Apple provided a video streaming service on iTunes. I wish Apple would become more aggressive with video.