Report: iTunes Movie Rentals (Finally) on Deck

Rumors of Apple finally adopting a rental model for downloadable movies have been swirling for months, but now the Financial Times reports that a deal could be immanent—and that could mean many, many more movies for your iPod.

The Financial Times story says Apple is in "advanced talks" with the "largest" film studios about movie rentals on iTunes. According to the report, a 30-day rental (which, I'm guessing, would expire 24 hours after you first start watching) would cost $3, and you'd be able to transfer the movie from your desktop to your iPod or iPhone (well, yeah).

Part of the reason the big movie studios have been reluctant to sign with Apple's current, buy-to-own movie service is because they're worried about cannibalizing their DVD sales, the FT story says (although I'm sure privacy worries—the bogeyman of many a studio exec—loom even larger). But the studios are apparently much more interested in movie rentals, which they don't see as competition for their respective DVD businesses.

Well, whatever the reason, the possibility of an Apple-Hollywood movie rental deal is great news for iTunes users, who have been stuck with a disappointingly small slate of films since last year's movie store launch. Not only is the selection pretty slim, but also the idea of paying $14.99 to own "Wild Hogs" doesn't exactly wow me. Throw in more movies (from more studios) with a $3 rental fee, though, and I'd be clicking the download button much more often.

Would you rent movies from iTunes for $3 a pop? Let me know what you think.

Related:
Hollywood studios in video talks with Apple [Financial Times]