Despite its increasing focuses on Services revenue, Apple is struggling to draw users to the iTunes Store for movie purchases and rentals. According to a new in-depth report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s market share for renting and purchasing movies has fallen to between 20 percent and 35 percent, despite once being well over 50 percent as recently as 2012…
The report cites “people with knowledge of the matter” and notes there are no third parties tracking digital movie market share, making it impossible to obtain exact numbers. Several movie studios, however, say there has been a notable decline in Apple’s share of the market.
When asked for comment, Apple reportedly didn’t deny the market share statistics, but rather explained that it focuses on providing users with content from subscription services like Netflix and HBO through the App Store. The Apple spokeswoman also explained that movie rentals and purchases have increased over the last year, hitting their highest level in more than a decade.
The WSJ notes, however, that Apple’s growth is more of a consequence of overall industry performance. Last year, digital movie rentals and sales increased 12 percent to $5.3 billion. The overall industry rise would explain how Apple is able to see its own numbers increase, despite losing market share.
One area where Apple has been growing, however, is with independent films and with deals signed for films outside the major studio system:
In the past, it has been reported that Apple is pushing to offer home rentals for movies that are still in theaters. The negotiations here are still in the early stages, though studios are said to be mulling a $30 price tag. Whether or not anything ever comes of these talks remains to be seen, but renting theatrical movies would certainly give Apple a leg up on the competition.
