Older Apple TV+ Movies Available to Purchase Directly

[MacRumors]

Apple now offers some older Apple TV+ original films for digital purchase and rental in the Apple TV app's store section.

Older Apple TV+ titles including Sofia Coppola's 2020 movie "On the Rocks," Sian Heder's Academy Award-winning 2021 film "CODA," and Aaron Schneider's 2020 World War II drama "Greyhound" are now available to buy or rent in 4K HDR options within the store section of the Apple TV app. This differs from Apple's usual distribution model for Apple TV+ originals, which generally limits availability to active subscribers and excludes purchase or rental through the Apple TV Store.

Users in online forums have recently reported seeing the purchase options directly within the Apple TV app on Apple devices. CheapCharts, which tracks iTunes Store pricing and availability, lists the films under their respective iTunes IDs — 1805979868 for On the Rocks, 1806204768 for CODA, and 1805971117 for Greyhound.

The updated listings in the TV app suggest the company is testing or rolling out a new hybrid distribution model for its in-house productions. This could allow non-subscribers to access specific older titles without committing to the $9.99 per month Apple TV+ subscription.

Article Link: Older Apple TV+ Movies Available to Purchase Directly

 

[bpa1093]

CODA was fantastic - highly recommend

 

[ab2c4]

Greyhound was really good. Another one not listed is Cherry.

 

[klasma]

Blu-ray or bust.

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

Now make them available for sale on disc please!

 

[dominiongamma]

Blu-ray or bust.

Bust then because I haven’t had a blu ray disc since 2010 maybe ? I love digital and streaming. No clutter

 

[DunedinD]

Now make them available for sale on disc please!

Some of its shows really should get disc releases. I’m thinking Foundation in particular.

 

[nrose101]

I will take The Gorge please!

 

[subjonas]

Aren’t digital “purchases” actually long-term licenses which can be revoked? California was passing a law to require a change to proper wording, what happened with that? And along with being revocable, I believe digital purchases can’t be given away or resold, and are lossy quality. I like that this is an added option if it works for some people, but I want to actually purchase, and in lossless quality.

 

[anthony131]

So, I just want to get this straight; I can purchase a digital-only movie that I really can't watch on anything other than an Apple device, right?

1. I should download the movie as a back up because it could disappear from their server at some point, right?
2. But I still can't transfer this movie to a device that's not made by Apple, right?
3. And I can't burn it to a disc for back up, right?
4. And if I were to lose credentials or close the account that I used to pay for the product, I can no longer watch it, right?

Genuine questions. Please let me know what the status is of digital purchases these days.

 

[RLRabb]

So, I just want to get this straight; I can purchase a digital-only movie that I really can't watch on anything other than an Apple device, right?

1. I should download the movie as a back up because it could disappear from their server at some point, right?
2. But I still can't transfer this movie to a device that's not made by Apple, right?
3. And I can't burn it to a disc for back up, right?
4. And if I were to lose credentials or close the account that I used to pay for the product, I can no longer watch it, right?

Genuine questions. Please let me know what the status is of digital purchases these days.

I believe the Apple TV app is available on all smart TVs and non-Apple streaming boxes. The Apple TV app is linked to your library. So you would not be limited to watching on Apple devices.

 

[Yonizzle]

You can also rent/buy these on Amazon, so they’re probably showing up on various other digital VOD storefronts like Google Play and Vudu and whatever else. I haven’t checked any others, but most rental/purchase movies are available through a lot of vendors.

 

[AppleTO]

Bust then because I haven’t had a blu ray disc since 2010 maybe ? I love digital and streaming. No clutter

Digital isn’t the problem, FairPlay DRM is. Even though these movies are “purchased” rather than streamed, eventually they will disappear with no recourse.

The DRM also only allows for content to be played on Apple’s own software, which severely limits playback possibilities.

 

[dumastudetto]

Aren’t digital “purchases” actually long-term licenses which can be revoked? California was passing a law to require a change to proper wording, what happened with that? And along with being revocable, I believe digital purchases can’t be given away or resold, and are lossy quality. I like that this is an added option if it works for some people, but I want to actually purchase, and in lossless quality.

Not going to happen unless Apple starts selling rights to other distributors, which is what typically causes purchased content to vanish from your library.

 

[dobratzp]

Blu-ray or bust.

Occasionally, streaming-exclusive titles in the US pop up in other markets. For example, CODA and Killers of the Flower Moon are available on DVD and blu-ray from Italy. Most DVDs are region locked, but most blu-rays can be read fine with any drive.

 

[cbaca51]

Streaming original movies / shows should get physical releases. I get them wanting people to subscribe, but I better they could make extra by selling individual movies that were popular

 

[subjonas]

Not going to happen unless Apple starts selling rights to other distributors, which is what typically causes purchased content to vanish from your library.

I don’t think it will be revoked any time soon, but it’s the fact that it can happen and eventually will given enough time. Also the other stuff—no right to ownership and lossy quality—bother me equally as much.

 

[subjonas]

Streaming original movies / shows should get physical releases. I get them wanting people to subscribe, but I better they could make extra by selling individual movies that were popular

I think the best business strategy is to do physical releases later after the popularity has subsided (the movie/show no longer affects subscriber retention) to earn extra revenue from movie/tv show collectors, which is probably kind of what they’re doing with making these movies available for digital purchase. The difference is digital movies have almost no cost to produce, so the question is if there’s enough demand to warrant producing and selling physical copies.

 

[retroneo]

Not going to happen unless Apple starts selling rights to other distributors, which is what typically causes purchased content to vanish from your library.

Happens today. When Apple revokes your Apple ID or if it has a negative balance and you get blocked.
Look at people who lose access to their iCloud Keychain for the same reason.

 

[svish]

Have to check the price of individual titles. For now, it looks like $14.99. It is costlier than 1 month subscription. I would prefer to subscribe for 1 month and watch the other available titles also whenever I wish to watch a particular film instead of buying only 1 title outright. Anyway good to have options for customers and it definitely might be a way for Apple to earn more.

 

[Marty80]

Bust then because I haven’t had a blu ray disc since 2010 maybe ? I love digital and streaming. No clutter

I live in both worlds i have a huge purchased digital and physical media collection. I am glad to see greyhound come out, it was a instant buy for me.

I also still have killers of the flower moon. I hope Apple continues this thread and other streaming services flow suit.

 

[dumastudetto]

Happens today. When Apple revokes your Apple ID or if it has a negative balance and you get blocked.
Look at people who lose access to their iCloud Keychain for the same reason.

That’s a completely different issue. If your Apple Account gets locked, obviously you can’t access purchased content in your account that is rights managed.

 

[russell_314]

Blu-ray or bust.

If it’s not on VHS, then it’s not a real movie 😂