Each of the major studios has agreed to provide movies for Apple's iTunes movie rental service, Apple chief Steve Jobs announced at the MacWorld conference in San Francisco Tuesday. The inclusion of Universal and Sony were major surprises since each had indicated it would launch a similar service. Moreover, Jobs said, the films could be downloaded and viewed on ordinary or high-definition TV sets via Apple's settop box -- without the use of a computer. They would rent for $2.99 for older titles, $3.99 for newer ones -- although "newer" is relative. Films will not become available on iTunes until at least 30 days after they are released on DVD. HD movies will cost $1.00 more than conventional ones to rent. Analysts pointed to other drawbacks: films can only be viewed for 24 hours -- fine for home viewing but annoying for those downloading them onto iPods and iPhones for viewing in increments during their commutes, lunch breaks, or work-outs. Moreover, only about 1,000 movies will be available when Apple's video-rental store opens online in February. Nevertheless, Apple's maneuver received mostly positive response from analysts and newspaper critics. Commented the London Times: "Apple's move into video rentals, if successful, is likely to change fundamentally the economics of the film industry, and provoke yet more arguments over the way internet royalties are paid to writers." Also on Tuesday, Jobs unveiled a new, thin laptop computer, the MacBook Air -- so thin that it does not sport a slot for playing DVDs.

The British film Atonement, which received the Golden Globe award for best film Sunday, received a whopping 14 nominations for the BAFTAs, presented by the British Academy of Film and Television. The movie received nominations for best film, best British film, best actress (Keira Knightley), best actor (James McAvoy), best director (Joe Wright) and best supporting actress (Saoirse Ronan). Two films received nine nominations, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. All three films were nominated for best film, along with The Lives of Others and American Gangster.Several British critics expressed surprise at the poor showing for Sweeney Todd, which received nominations only for make-up, hair and costume design. Winners are due to be announced on February 10.

Negotiations between the Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers continued on Tuesday for the fourth consecutive day and were scheduled to resume today (Wednesday), with some trade and Internet reports suggesting that a tentative agreement could be announced before the end of the week. If so, analysts will immediately examine the kind of agreement the DGA has made with the AMPTP on residuals for digital distribution, the key issue involved in the writers' strike. Many in the industry are hoping that the deal with the directors can provide a template for similar deals with other labor groups.

The Berlin Film Festival has chosen Shine a Light, Martin Scorsese's documentary about The Rolling Stones, to open this year's festival on February 7. Festival organizers said Tuesday that the director and the veteran rock band will attend the screening. In its statement, the organizers said, "Scorsese has created an extraordinary musical film event and given audiences unprecedented access to The Rolling Stones both on stage and off."

American Idol roared back onto the air Tuesday night with an 18.6 rating and a 27 share -- putting it well above every other regular series airing this season. Nevertheless its total audience of 33.2 million was down significantly from its peak season debut last year with 37.3 million and also down from 2006's 35.5 million. Several critics expressed surprise that the usually dyspeptic and sometimes cruel Simon Cowell reacted mildly even to some of the more deplorable performances. "The King of Mean was replaced by the Prince of Nice," wrote Adam Buckman in the New York Post. Craig Berman on MSNBC.com suggested that perhaps airing the show from Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, brought out the judges' "kinder, gentler" side.

Fox began making its annual mid-season move to the front ranks of the Nielsen ratings last week, scoring strongly among adults 18-49 with NFL football and the debut of its sci-fi drama Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. CBS, however, remained on top overall, drawing big numbers for the miniseries Comanche Moon and its old stand-by, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Overall ratings were down significantly from last year, following a pattern that began well before the writers' strike. Only CBS remained flat with last year. Overall, the network wound up with an average 8.2 rating and a 13 share for the week. Fox placed second with a 7.9/12. NBC followed with a 5.1/8, edging out ABC with a 5.0/8.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. NFC Playoffs, Fox, 18.8/29; 2. AFC Playoffs, CBS, 17.9/30; 3. BCS National Championship, Fox, 14.4/22; 4. Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 11.6/17; 5. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 11.2/17; 6. Terminator: Sarah Conover Chronicles, Fox, 11.1/16; 7. Law and Order: SVU, NBC, 9.9/17; 8. Comanche Moon Pt. 1, CBS, 9.4/14; 9. Without a Trace, CBS, 9.3/16; 10. Criminal Minds, CBS, 8.9/14.

During an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's Good Morning America Tuesday, Diane Keaton blurted out the "f" word, then apologized. The incident might have triggered action by the FCC, but FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said later that a recent court decision overturning the FCC's policy on the fleeting use of such expletives tied the commission's hands. The FCC is appealing the decision. An ABC news spokesman called the incident "unfortunate" and said that that word had been bleeped in later feeds to time zones in the West.

After at first seeming to slam the door shut on a plea by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to allow its annual Grammy show to proceed without pickets and with writers, the Writers Guild of America West appeared to open it a crack Tuesday, saying that the academy's latest request "will be referred to the WGAW Board of Directors for decision." The Screen Actors Guild indicated Tuesday that if pickets are posted at the awards show, it expects to show solidarity with the WGA and not participate in the ceremonies scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on February 10. However, most singers and musicians are members of AFTRA and the American Federation of Musicians and are expected to fulfill contractual obligations to perform on the show or act as presenters. The two unions released a joint statement Tuesday urging the WGA to allow the Grammys to proceed, pointing out that proceeds from the even sustain "important educational, charitable, and advocacy activities" of NARAS. The Grammys are scheduled to air on CBS.

The Oprah Winfrey Network -- or OWN -- will take over what is now the Discovery Health Channel, currently carried by cable systems serving 70 million households, it was announced Tuesday. It was not immediately clear what form the new channel would take, although, in a conference call with reporters, Winfrey said that she pulled out of the women's-oriented Oxygen Network, in which she was an investor and co-founder, because it "did not reflect my voice." In the case of OWN, Winfrey said, "I will have editorial control." She said that the network would use "the platform of The Oprah Winfrey Show" but would not air reruns of the show itself, at least not initially. She has a contract in place with CBS Television Distribution (the show is carried mostly on ABC-TV outlets) through the 2010-11 season, at which time she would be free to negotiate a new contract allowing OWN to rerun past shows or move the show to the new network. No money exchanged hands in the deal. Winfrey's Harpo productions will own a 50-percent stake in the cable network with Discovery owning the other 50-percent stake. The new network is expected to launch in late summer.

Hyundai, which announced in October that it had bought ad time to air two 30-second commercials during the Super Bowl game on February 3, is now considering pulling out. Given the worsening U.S. economy, which has hit the automobile industry hard, Hyundai said that it is "reviewing whether or not we want to advertise on the Super Bowl" at a reported cost of $2.7 million to $3 million for each spot. In an interview with Automotive News, Hyundai spokesman Chris Hosford said, "A lot of economic indicators clearly show the economy is slowing. ... Is this the best thing to do with our advertising funds in the first quarter?"

Democratic presidential contender Dennis Kucinich flew to Las Vegas Tuesday, betting that the Nevada Supreme Court would uphold a lower court order requiring MSNBC to include him in Tuesday's presidential debate. As it turned out, he would have had better luck at the roulette wheel, as the state's high court decided that the lower court had exceeded its authority and that the network had never signed a legally binding contract with the Ohio congressman (although it had previously invited him to appear). In the end, the program was limited to the top three Democratic candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.