iTunes rentals arrive in Canada, U.K. with 48-hour time limit

Apple’s newly announced movie rental service for its iTunes offerings in Canada and the United Kingdom may come several months after the same service debuted in the United States.

But the Canadian and British versions of movie rentals do carry one substantial difference—customers in those markets will have 48 hours to finish a movie once they start watching it. That’s twice as long as U.S. customers have.

Apple introduced movie rentals to iTunes customers in the U.S. this past January. When Steve Jobs first announced the service at Macworld Expo last January, he said that customers who rented films via the iTunes Store would be able to keep them for 30 days, with 24 hours to finish the movie once they began watching it.

Movie rentals made their debut at the Canadian and U.K. iTunes Stores Wednesday. A quick look at the terms of service for both Canadian and British users confirms that renters in those countries have a 48-hour window.

The difference in policies between iTunes outlets could spur talk that Apple is considering an extension to the U.S. limit. But Apple would not confirm whether those plans are in store. “There has been no update on iTunes Movie Rentals in the U.S. since the initial announcement,” an Apple spokesperson said Wednesday.

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