iTunes posts Lionsgate movies

Cupertino (CA) - Lionsgate Films has now added several of its most popular movies, earning the distinction as the first non-Disney movie studio with a presence on iTunes.

The partnership between Apple and Lionsgate was confirmed last month, but the actual addition to the iTunes store is what hurts the BitTorrent Entertainment Network. The most recent iTunes competitor previously was the only store to offer digital downloads of Lionsgate titles.

Included in the new list of movies are Terminator 2, LA Story, Basic Instinct, Dirty Dancing, Monster’s Ball, and Rambo. Most of the new movies will be priced at the standard iTunes cost of around $10.

When iTunes first offered digital movies, several studios were firm about staying away because they disagreed with Apple’s "take it or leave it" offer of fixed prices and commission. Instead, they have moved to iTunes contenders like the Wal-Mart Video Download store, which remains the only outlet offering movies from all of the "bix six" studios.

The addition of Lionsgate movies brings in the second studio to iTunes. Previously, Disney was the store’s sole provider of feature films. Despite its inability to score a ton of movies, iTunes remains the top service for downloads of TV shows.