Despite increased competition from Amazon.com (AMZN -1.11%) and Google (GOOGL 0.69%), iTunes is doing well. Fiscal second-quarter revenue from iTunes Software and Service rose 12% sequentially and 30% year over year to $4.11 billion while iTunes-only sales rose 28% to $2.4 billion.
TV and movie purchases may be heavily influencing growth.
I say that as a regular customer of Apple's "Season Pass" feature for episodes of my favorite programs, including the AMC Networks (AMCX 2.29%) hit The Walking Dead and sci-fi adventure series Doctor Who.
SOURCE: Frank Ockenfels/AMC.
And I'm not alone. More than 6,000 have rated Season 3 of The Walking Dead at the iTunes Store. HBO's Game of Thrones is also as much a hit at iTunes as it is in the ratings. Seasons 2 and 1 rank first and second, respectively, in the iTunes Store for Sci-Fi & Fantasy, a small but nice catalyst for HBO parent Time Warner (TWX).
In fact, it's enough to make me wonder why Hollywood isn't asking Apple (AAPL -0.81%) to do more. Why not duplicate the iTunes Music Match service that Amazon and Google have already copied for their own services and introduce "DVD Match"? Customers who own a verifiable, legal copy of a film or TV season on DVD would be eligible to download the latest digital copy of what they own.
Mix in iCloud syncing, and you have the means to give users anytime, anywhere access to their entire digital library. Think of as Netflix, but for the library you already own.
We also know there's demand for a service like this. A quick Web search shows more than 166 million results for the term "dvd to itunes." That's a huge market waiting for Apple to offer the right product.
What do you think of DVD Match? Should Apple pursue it or something like it? Please vote in the poll below, and then leave leave a comment to let us know what you think of Apple and iTunes.
