Amazon Getting Set To Sell Movie Downloads

Amazon.com is close to announcing that its customers will soon have the choice of buying movies on VHS, DVD or DV -- digital versions that they can be downloaded, Advertising Age reported on Monday. The trade publication said that Amazon will offer customers two plans for DVs -- subscription and à la carte. AdAge indicated that Amazon had considered launching a music download service but decided to focus on video instead. In an interview with MarketWatch Radio, analyst Rob Enderle commented, "Right now we've got music services all over the place, but video is not cooked yet. ... Amazon sees that as an opportunity to step into the space and own it." He noted that the company's biggest hurdle will be securing rights from the movie studios. But Philip Remek, an analyst at Guzman & Co., suggested that Amazon has plenty of leverage in bargaining with them. "They [Amazon] are already a major distributor," Remek told today's New York Post. "Film studios have an ongoing relationship with them."