A new Wall Street Journal report shows that, in spite of concentrating on income from services, Apple is having a hard time attracting customers to its iTunes Store for movie rentals and purchases. The report claims that the company’s market share has dropped to between 20% and 35% after it was more than 50% only five years ago.
The report says no independent statistics are available, but according to numerous movie studios Apple’s market share has dropped considerably.
Asked to comment Apple apparently did not deny this, but merely explained that the firm concentrated on offering subscription services such as HBO and Netflix via its App Store, and that movie purchases and rentals had actually reached their highest level in well over a decade last year.
The Wall Street Journal recently said it was only because the market as a whole performed better that Apple could increase its total income from this source despite its market share dropping.
Comcast and Amazon are Apple’s two biggest competitors in this market. Comcast now has a 15% market share, while its Prime membership service has helped Amazon to increase its market share to 20%.
One industry sector where Apple has been expanding in recent years is with deals signed for movies outside the large studio system as well as independent films. This has helped the company to become a stronger contender in that particular market, people who work with Apple said.
Previously, it was reported that Apple would like to introduce home rentals for films that are still showing in theatres. These talks are still in their early stages, but studios reportedly want around $30 per movie. If Apple’s plans in this regard come to fruition it would be a significant breakthrough for the company and give it a major advantage over its competitors.