<— The approx. length of a one line title space —>
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890  (40)

Apple and Wal-Mart sitting in a tree?

Leader: After Wal-Mart allegedly flexed its retail muscles and intimidated movie studios out of jumping on board with iTunes, Apple is trying to work out a deal with Wal-Mart where they could money from movie downloads together.

Apple and Wal-Mart could be about to strike a deal wherein they would both profit from movie downloads from the iTunes Store. The two are said to be in talks regarding video downloads, which may be one of the only ways Apple can finagle a deal with more movie studios.

The reason for this? Rumor has it that Apple was poised to launch movie downloads through the iTunes Store with the backing of more major Hollywood studios than just Disney, with the agreement that Apple would be able to purchase new releases for $14.50 each from the studios. Wal-Mart, who purchases new releases from studios for $17 and is said to be prepping its own movie download service, was disgruntled by the news and demanded that if Apple got such a deal, Wal-Mart expected the same terms.

The difference, of course, being that Wal-Mart sells physical DVDs in its stores which require extra costs to print and distribute, but the retail giant flexed its muscles anyway and eventually intimidated every studio except for Disney out of getting cozy with Apple for fear of retaliation from the world's largest retailer, who threatened Disney directly by saying they would cut orders. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, studios decided that they could neither afford to slash $2.50 per movie for Wal-Mart--who makes 40 percent of all DVD sales--nor could they afford to wake a sleeping giant by slipping a better deal to the competition. Disney went ahead with iTunes anyway and is still enjoying good treatment by Wal-Mart, however.

Being practically defeated by Wal-Mart in one fell swoop, Steve Jobs wasn't one to sit around. Jobs reportedly went to Wal-Mart personally to see if they could come up with a compromise, which could include digital "coupons" bought through Wal-Mart to download movies off of iTunes. This would mean Wal-Mart getting a cut of the sales, and everyone is happy. Apple, who sells iTunes gift cards through a number of other brick & mortar outlets, does not currently sell them through Wal-Mart, so such a deal could actually help both sides.

The talks are said to be in the early stages, so there may be no result at all. However, if Apple and Wal-Mart do partner up, it seems as though most of the other movie studios would be willing to let go of their fears and get on board with iTunes. With the holidays soon approaching, there is no better time for Apple to take advantage of friends and family looking to watch movies together at home. The only question is whether they'll have some variety to choose from off of iTunes, or be stuck choosing between "High School Musical" and "The Hot Chick."