Google is now looking to compete in the premium video rental market.
The online behemoth is reportedly going to expand Youtube’s existing slate of digital movies available on a pay-per-view model. The service launched last year but updates have been almost nonexistent and Google has done absolutely nothing to promote it.
Hacker News found a new page on Youtube highlighting a bunch of new digital movie rentals, but that site has since been pulled.
Other players in this market include Walmart’s Vudu, Blockbuster’s on-demand service, Best Buy’s CinemaNow platform, and the on-demand offerings from the Xbox 360 and PS3.
This market of per-movie pricing is in direct competition with subscription-based “all you can eat” services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, which seem to be dominating all of the streaming buzz.
Nevertheless, the Youtube Store has managed to garner strong support, with studios like The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, and Universal all on board. A couple others, namely Paramount and 20th Century Fox, however, are not yet interested.
