Apple in talks with Hollywood studios to bring early access to movies on iTunes

Apple is reportedly in talks with major Hollywood studios to bring early access to new movies shortly after their release in theatres.

Bloomberg reports that the iPhone maker wants its iTunes business to stand out in a crowded online market for movies, TV shows and music and exclusive movie deals with Hollywood studios could help it achieve that. Some major studios like 21st Century Fox, Time Warner, Warner Bros and Universal Pictures had expressed their desire to offer high-priced home-video rentals of new movies just last week.

Studios are under tremendous pressure to raise revenues from other streams as cinema attendance has been stagnant for a while not delivering the numbers it use to. Studios are now considering a premium-priced online rental for new movies at prices ranging from $25 (£20) to $50, as per the report.

While it is not certain they will pick Apple's platform for this, the Cupertino-based tech giant is in talks to work out a deal. The iPhone maker has been seeing a dip in its hardware sales figures in the last few quarters but its services business has boomed. Last quarter its business from services grew 24% to set an all-time record.

A successful deal could help boost Apple's services business even further. It will also remove some of the burden the company is facing with its hardware sales especially the iPhone in times of smartphone market saturation.