Google is currently rolling out 3,000 new movie titles on its YouTube rental platform in the United States.
Mountain View is also planning to futher bolster YouTube’s video library by allocating funds for the creation of content and offering incentives for distributors.
“In the coming year, we’ll bring even more content to YouTube,” YouTube chief Salar Kamangar wrote in an official blog post.
“Building on the success of Partner Grants and YouTube NextUp, we’re providing even more resources to creators who you’ll know from TV or Hollywood, and to existing YouTube partners who have already built loyal audiences on the site. Look out for more details on this in the coming months.”
Currently, YouTube offers popular video makers the opportunity to make money through the site by achieving parnter status. In 2010, YouTube grew its number of partners to 15,000 worldwide, with the number of partners making $1,000 or more a month up by 300%. Programs like YouTube Next has also accelerated partner growth and success by offering partner funds based on future YouTube revenue share.
Since its inception, YouTube has evolved from a privately owned web-based video service to a website extraordinaire owned by Google that is routinely viewed on smartphones, tablets, PCs and TVs.
Branching out from a site devoted to individually uploaded movies, YouTube is partnered with some of the world’s major news sites, made-for-web and personal video creators, as well as sports teams and musicians to offer diversified content.
Individually uploaded videos continue to be wildly popular on the site, with some even rivaling the viewership seen on some primetime TV stations.
Much like Facebook, YouTube is steadily moving into the video rental market, hoping to turn viewers already watching short videos and segments on the site into paying customers.
