Seth Godin writes about how Hollywood could re-cast the movie industry by initially charging very little for online rentals. I agree. If I could start renting movies for 50 cents (or even $1), I (and millions of other people) would immediately go buy an AppleTV and change our viewing habits completely. Sadly, I believe that the reason they don't do this is that they are fearful of their existing channels: DVDs and movie rental stores. I wonder what it would take for a new upstart to break through this?
Perhaps if Apple were to offer a self-publish model, ala Live Marketplace, for small or independent film makers to access a large audience - at a level above free podcasts. This could be huge. The next Blair Witch Project could be discovered and launched this way, and carry AppleTV with it.