In an interesting article, FT is reporting that Apple is on the verge of announcing movie rentals through their iTunes store. With the addition of the Apple TV, this move has been expected for some time now. Imagine being able to log into iTunes, rent a move and have it downloaded to your computer/Apple TV within minutes. Much quicker and more convenient than Blockbuster or Netflix.

A film would cost $2.99 for a 30-day rental. Its digital rights-management software would allow films to be moved from a computer to at least one other device such as the video iPod or iPhone. The software would prevent movies being copied.

This could be a killer deal for Apple. With the pricing, you have to imagine they will not be making much money per rental, but this should drive sales of the Apple TV and the video iPod. The key to the deal is the 30 day window. Many of the existing players in this market have a very limited rental period, as short as 1 or 2 days. With 30 days to view the movie as many times as you want on your computer, Apple TV, video iPod or iPhone.

It will be interesting to see if this will be announced at WWDC tomorrow, or if this will wait until it is closer to being launched.

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