YouTube is reportedly in negotiations with Hollywood studios to expand its movie offering. The product of these negotiations may be much more significant than any of YouTube’s previous movie offerings.
Earlier this year, YouTube launched a movie service, but the deals it is hoping to get done now will be for movies that are just coming to DVD, which could put it in direct competition with Netflix, Blockbuster, Redbox, iTunes, Amazon, etc. Matthew Garrahan and Richard Waters report for the Financial Times:
Google has been pitching to the studios on the international appeal of a streaming, on-demand movie service pegged to the world’s most popular search engine and YouTube, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.
Google will use its search technology and YouTube to direct viewers to the new service, which is likely to launch first in the US, with other countries added over time, the people added.
According to the report, the titles would cost $5, and would be streamed, rather than downloaded.
Last week, YouTube announced that it added 400 new movies in the UK. These are free, but the quality of the selection has been questioned.