Not Surprising: Streaming Movies Could Soon Come Via iCloud
October 13, 2011
After first tackling music, Apple is said to be negotiating with Hollywood types to bring movies to iCloud as well. And by movies we mean streaming movies, which would be the first for the Cupertino, California-based company.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company wants to give customers the ability to stream media purchased through iTunes without requiring them to first download them to their PC/Mac or iDevice.
According to Apple Insider:
Rumors that Apple wants to give users the ability to stream and re-download movies they have purchased are not new. Apple has already secured deals for iTunes customers, allowing them to re-download songs and TV shows they own, but Hollywood movies cannot be re-downloaded. Previous reports have claimed that the so-called "HBO window" has been a sticking point in negotiations. The window is a deal in which three of the top six film studios have distribution deals with premium network HBO, and under the terms of that deal, outlets must halt sales or distribution of a film when it premieres on HBO.Streaming videos is obviously the next logical step for Apple and iTunes, especially with services such as Vudu and Netflix already out there. Hopefully, this will be part of Apple’s first iCloud update. What are your thoughts? Do you think streaming video is in iCloud's future? Let us know by using the comments below. Photo: Slash Gear