YouTube Offer Film Rental Service?

Wall Street Journal website published a news that YouTube is in discussions with Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers about introducing some of their new titles to the site.

The move would put Google, YouTube's owner, in direct competition with a host of other companies providing movies online, including Amazon, Apple, Blockbuster, Hulu, Netflix, Microsoft, through its Xbox console, and Sony, through the PlayStation 3.

The pricing structure being discussed is understood to be on the same lines as renting a film on iTunes, although Apple's service consists of a download rather than streaming of the movie. It charges about $3.99 a movie.

Rental fees could provide the lossmaking unit, which at present relies on advertising, with an important new revenue stream.

Without any comments for the speculation,YouTube's spokesman just said，“We hope to expand on both our great relationship with movie studios and on the selection and types of videos we offer our community.”

YouTube mainly offers short-form videos uploaded by users. Full-length movies can already be found on the website but tend to be older back-catalogue offerings. Besides, its short videos are often subject to “caching” delays. Although YouTube does now offer high-definition video, its ability to provide long-form movie content in acceptable quality without interruptions is likely a big worry of movie studios.

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