iTunes to unveil movie store

As expected, iTunes will take the wraps off a movie store in a much-anticipated announcement today. The launch has been long in coming, as Steve Jobs has not had an easy job negotiating pricing with the studios. Initially, Jobs wanted to cap download prices at $9.99, but he relented to $14.99. Still, that number is less than the wholesale rate of $17 that WalMart pays for its DVDs. So iTunes is expected to launch with movies from Disney (Jobs sits on the board) and Lionsgate Films. Last week Amazon debuted its music store with downloads that run as high as $19.99, which may explain why the company was able to secure partnerships with heavyweights 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. As far as today’s announcement, while the movie store is a given, it’s unclear what else Jobs will unveil. There’s a rumor that he’ll also debut a widescreen video iPod to go along with the movie store, but we’ll have to wait and see. (Press event is at 10 a.m. Pacific.)