Seemingly not satisfied with its top spot in the free streaming video market, Youtube is beginning to experiment with pay-per-view streaming movie rentals, offering full-length motion pictures starting at $1.99.
That’s the industry standard price for a market that has become competitive with Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, Sony, and Microsoft among the many other companies that offer similar services.
A new URL at Youtube, youtube.com/store, was discovered by PC World, where titles like Reservoir Dogs, Precious, and Saw are available for either $1.99 or $3.99 (new releases).
Users can pay for their rentals through Google Checkout. One payment is authorized, playback of the movie begins and is accessible for 24 hours thereafter.
It’s an interesting area for Youtube to climb into. The online video-sharing site is perfect for passing along quick clips and funny user-generated content, but the idea of anyone paying to watch videos on Youtube seems almost out of the question.
Youtube has not yet officially announced the service.
