Lionsgate Films to Give Digital Copies on iTunes

It's a case of one studio that gets it, almost. Lionsgate Films is known for punishing action and gross out horror films that appeal to a younger audience. It could be why they’ve decided to experiment with digital downloads on DVD. But this experiment is limited to only two titles. The digital movie deal from Lionsgate leaves a lot to be desired.

May 27 is the estimated date when the new Stallone film, Rambo should be available on DVD. If you buy the Special Edition DVD you'll get a code that allows you to download the movie from iTunes sometime after the DVD is released. The same digital deal will apply to The Eye starring Jessica Alba, available this summer. No other film has yet to be announced by Lionsgate that will receive the same treatment.

Similar iTunes offers are available from certain 20th Century Fox releases including a Family Guy special DVD.

Not to knock any efforts of the studios to embrace downloadable digital media, but this is an overly safe way to go about it. If the studio is looking at sales figures of the DVDs as any indication of consumer acceptance of legal downloads, it's a skewed outlook.

Why not experiment by offering a digital copy on a special edition of the DVD itself? Sure it’s a risk, but sales figures will provide some hard data about the consumer's willingness to pay for digital copies.

Not to knock Jessica Alba or Rambo but this is a very limited variety of films from which to launch this kind of experiment.