On March 14th, we saw that the ITMS allowed to buy a full movie for 9.99$. When it started in the US, the ITMS allowed us to buy 400 000 tracks. If we look at the videotheque today, american citizens can jump on… 1 movie! Not much… And, oh surprise, it’s a Disney Movie (Stevie, you hear us ?).

And no “one more thing” announcement… No special buzz, Apple style… It just appeared a bit on some websites… Is it the tree hiding the forest ?

The following points I’m gonna develop are just the fruit of my imagination/desire/reflexion. I don’t know any M. Anonymous Source that could have revealed me nice information, resulting in a kick in the … from Mr Jobs ASAP. I’m not the “ol’good” Thinksecret as we knew it, when the rumors where not rumors, so, if everything is just dream, I beg your pardon.

The online video market is almost non existent. No real offer in terms of catalog, no real software “à  la iTunes”… Everthing is still to be done… To put a Disney movie online allows to “prepare the battlefield”, to see how the users will react. The statistics of downloads of this movie are essentials. I did not see the movie so excuse my ignorance, but I believe this ain’t no Blockbuster. Is this not a good test to see if the market is ready ?

It’s tuff to be a leader

Apple blows the concurrence and the public (and stock holders) hopes are big. To start a video store that would not be as successful as the Music Store would be a K.O. for Apple’s image. Therefore, there is only one solution: Think about the strategy to put in place and the the priorities. To think about it, it’s always good to have some numbers… The Disney movie allows to see if the consumers are ready, if the ITVS can be launched at Apple’s 30th Birthday… or not…

And the iPod AV ?

Appleinsider tells us that the iPod 5G (60GO) is in a “I could be renewed but it’s not sure” state. To use this model for an hypothetical iPod AV could also be interpreted as a reflection sign on the taken risk. Apple does not take the risk to start a full line of new iPod and this way cannibalized the sales of the 5G which is a “best buy”. If this happens, we could see the same trick as the iPod photo becoming the “iPod”.

At the end of the day, I’ve got the feeling that Apple is not allowed to fail and that this movie is just an indicator to define the right moment to launch the videostore and the player going with it. So… A Video Store and an iPod AV ? Yes! When ? Well… uh… That’s the big question… As usual, nobody knows; But maybe it’s why we love Apple ?