Apple Closes In on Hollywood

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It has been Hollywood’s worst-kept secret: Steve Jobs is starting to win over the film industry, BusinessWeek.com reports.


The Apple CEO who all but invented the digital music marketplace with the iPod and iTunes has found the going far more difficult in the video market. The Apple TV set-top box launched last year has been a dud, and the limited selection of movies on iTunes has prevented film downloads from becoming another smash hit like music.


But the buzz is heavy that Jobs and most of the big studios are nearing compromise on key sticking points that have prevented iTunes from offering most of the new and old movie titles consumers see at Blockbuster (BBI), Netflix (NFLX), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT). Studio executives, forced into silence by Apple’s ultra-uptight nondisclosure agreements, aren’t talking, and neither is Apple.


BusinessWeek has learned that Apple is close to nailing down agreements with most of the big studios, though not all may be ready to announce by the time Jobs takes the stage on Jan. 15 at the annual Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.



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