In an effort to continue to drive digital movie sales, Apple has launched an updated version of iTunes Extra that will be available on Apple TV and enable users to have a plethora of bonus content for films they purchase for their HDTV. It will also give studios the ability to update related content for their movies on a regular basis to give users more available content and bonus features, much like extra content on DVDs.
Overall, the move by Apple and film studios should give customers more options when they purchase films digitally, which comes as DVD and Blu-Ray sales continue to decline. It allows studios to push out bonus features that users can watch when they purchase the digital title, giving a similar experience to users who had rented or purchased the hardcopy of the film.
"It brings the consumer a whole new level to their home video experience," said Mary Daily, president and CMO for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Currently, Apple offers a few hundred film titles on the iTunes Extras feature, available on the new interface, and the company hopes to unveil a number of new titles as interest in Extras continues to see a rise. According to reports, the new update is ready for both Macs and PCs, and the company says it will continue to update the Extras interface for all iOS 8 devices to be released this fall.
That will include the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Studios currently having their content available on the updated new interface include Disney and Pixar, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Starz Digital Media and A24. The move should entice more users to make the switch to digital films now that all the bonus features, and then some, will be available for viewing.
"We are all working together as an industry to make a good consumer proposition, and I think that's a purchase proposition," Mara Winokur, SVP of digital at Starz Digital Media, was quoted as saying.
