Amazon.com in Talks With Studios About Movie Downloads

Posted on March 10, 2006

The New York Times reports that Amazon.com is in talks with three Hollywood studious about an Internet movie and tv download service.

Amazon.com is in talks with three Hollywood studios about starting a service that would allow consumers to download movies and TV shows for a fee and burn them onto DVD's, according to three people briefed on the discussions.
If the advanced negotiations are successfully concluded, Amazon's service would position itself in the media world alongside rivals like Apple Computer's iTunes as a place where people go not just to order goods to be sent by mail, but to instantly enjoy digital wares as well.
So far, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers are engaged in the talks, said one person close to the talks who, like the others, asked not to be identified because the negotiations are continuing.

The article points out the big advantage Amazon.com has with its popular IMDB.com website, which provides statistics on movies and television shows. Internet movie and tv show downloads have been one of the hottest subjects this year. The download concept got a big boost last year when Apple debuted its video iPod, which included the ability to purchase downloads of episodes from hit ABC shows, including the popular Lost series.