"Six major studios plan to begin selling movies over the Internet today that buyers can download and keep for watching at any time.

Until now, the only downloads the studios have offered have been online rentals, which can be watched only for a 24-hour period — an idea that has not caught on with consumers. (...) New movies will cost about $20 to $30 to download; older titles will cost as little as $10. The downloads will be available on the same day that the DVD is released — quicker than rentals, which are put online about 45 days later and cost $2 to $5."

Story in the New York Times