Apple iCloud To Offer Movies, TV Shows At Launch?

Apple, in an unusual move, confirmed the agenda for their upcoming WWDC developer conference to include the iCloud, iOS 5, and OS X Lion. Although it seems like they just killed some of the mystery and magic for the event, there's still so much unknown about the iCloud that it keeps us anxious and the rumor mills cranking. The latest claims suggest that the iCloud could serve up not only music, but also movies and TV shows.

Two insider sources involved in the ongoing negotiations, claim that Apple has "stepped up" its efforts to persuade major Hollywood film studios to agree to licenses that would let customers store and stream copyrighted video content from Apple's servers. The sources claim that Apple has been in discussion with the studios for over a year and that the major obstacle is the "HBO window." The term refers to an agreement where three of the top six film studios have a deal with HBO such that when a movie premieres on HBO, the other outlets must stop sales or distribution of the title.

The industry insiders believe that an agreement will be reached that will address the HBO window issue or that Apple could proceed with the studios that are not affected by the HBO window, which include Disney, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures. However, whether all this could be complete before the June 6th keynote, seems unlikely. But, it could still happen before the actual iCloud launch.

[via AppleInsider]