Why Warner Bros. Is a No-Show on Apple TV
Why isn’t Warner Bros. part of Apple’s 99-cent iTunes TV rentals initiative? Simple, says Warner Bros. Entertainment Chairman Barry Meyer, the deal the company offered it was a lousy one.
Remarking on Apple’s (APPL) new TV-show rental scheme at the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch 2010 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, Meyer said he was wary of its low prices and potential impact on full-season sales. “We just don’t think the value proposition is a good one for us,” Meyer said, adding that he’d rather sell season passes to the studio’s TV series and $1.99 and $2.99 per-episode downloads than “open up a rental business in television at a low price.”
News Corp. (NWS) and Disney (DIS) disagree and have already signed on to offer cheaper rentals. Presumably, if doing so increases rental volume and income for them, Meyer will change his tune.
