Let's be real here.
iTunes is not killing the ski film segment of the industry. Say it all you want, but it's not.
Companies are free to charge whatever price that they like. Although Apple does take a cut, that cut is small and covers everything from server host space to credit-card processing. The production companies could totally charge more on iTunes--and there's a strong case that sales would hardly be impacted. Skiing, as a whole, has relatively inelastic demand. People are going to want to see the movie no matter what. If the companies can agree to move prices from their $10 perch, potentially to something more like $15 or $18, then I think the issue would all but go away.
And that's not even considering all of the costs that hosting on iTunes eliminates. Shipping, credit-card fees, host fees, printing costs, DVD/Blu-Ray processing costs, etc. are all eliminated by using iTunes.
Anyway, I do think that the industry is moving toward digital distribution. I just think that the way that companies are going about it is naïve in a few ways.
Like it or not, free online content will not last. I think that things like Traveling Circus and FreeskiTV, among others, will be able to stay free due to their large viewerships, but as a whole, we're looking at a move toward more of a television-like "subscriptions" model. Purchase your subscription for $5 or $10 at the beginning of the season and get 7-10 webisodes. Newschoolers could provide a hub for this new medium, with iTunes acting as an alternative. If you want to watch a single webisode, you'll probably be looking at 99¢ or $1.99. There's just no way that I see quality programming continuing to exist solely on an ad-funded basis.
