Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 1:50pm PDT
Report: YouTube in talks to stream rental movies
Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
YouTube is in talks with several studios for a service that would have YouTube stream rented movies, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The report says that YouTube, a division of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), is talking with Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. on the topic of streaming rentals. The report says that the movies would possibly be available for streaming rental the day of a movie's release on DVD.
The report says that a likely price point for the rentals would be $3.99, the same price that Apple Inc. charges for rentals on the iTunes Music Store. The report also hints that some movies could possibly be available without a rental fee, but with advertising.
The report says that should the plans go forward, a group of 10,000 Google employees would test the service for three months. The negotiations are continuing, but there are no guarantees that a deal will be struck, the report said.
Report: YouTube in talks to stream rental movies - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals: