Fox announced plans on Monday to sell Windows-formatted movies and TV-shows online at the Fox-owned Direct2Drive Web site. The plans, say Fox, will have no affect on its continued support of Apple’s iTunes Music Store and the shows being sold on that service.
Starting in October, consumers will be able to buy Fox movies such as “X-Men The Last Stand” and “The Omen” on Direct2Drive for $19.99 each. Fox will also offer TV programming like “24,” and “Prison Break,” for $1.99 each, the same price as they retail for on the iTunes Music Store.
Fox Interactive Media Spokesperson Ann Burkart says the company has no plans pull programming from iTunes, or to offer shows only on Direct2Drive.
“There is no exclusivity to the deal,” Burkart told Macworld.
In addition to TV shows on iTunes, Fox and other studios already offer movies for sale over the Internet at CinemaNow, relying on the PC-only Windows Media Player 10 software to handle its DRM. Likewise, movies and TV shows from Direct2Drive will be available only in Windows-friendly formats.
The protected Windows Media files will be viewable on up to two Windows computers and two portable devices that can play protected Windows Media files. Burkart stated that Mac-compatibility was largely dependant on Apple.
“If Apple opens the platform we’d love to [sell Mac-formatted video]” said Burkart. “Our goal is to offer a range of choices.”
To date Apple has refused to license its FairPlay DRM technology.