The Apple iTunes music store is offline this morning, presumably as they get ready to go live with a new store featuring full movie downloads.
It’s likely that the store will primarily feature movies only from Disney (including Walt Disney Pictures, Miramax, Pixar and Touchstone,) with some question about what studios will come on board in future. Rumors are that films will be priced from $9.99 to $14.99, competitive with DVD pricing.
Apple is also expected to announce today a series of new iPod models, including a large widescreen model designed for movie playback.
Today’s event, titled “Showtime,” is expected to be Apple’s rollout event for their latest consumer entertainment strategies, including online movie downloads, new media players and possibly greater integration with television sets for playback.
Stay tuned for more updates later today.