No. 1 video sharing site YouTube is now in negotiations with several major Hollywood movie studios to rent movies online, according to sources.
Similar to Apple iTunes movie rentals, once a movie is released on DVD, it would also be available for rental online.
The popular online video site already shows older movie for free, but the actual demand for entire films on YouTube is unknown. It seems that many viewers would rather go to Hulu or some other site specializing in TV episodes and movies and will stick with YouTube for viewing short video clips.
According to sources, YouTube is interested in working with Warner Brothers, Sony and Lions Gate Entertainment, among others, but it's unknown when possible deals will be announced.
YouTube has struggled bringing in advertising revenue, despite the site's large viewership, which has led Google to create partnerships. Furthermore, if this deal becomes official, then it will mark the first time YouTube has charged for online video content.
YouTube also has been under pressure from copyright holders to charge for certain video clips -- excluding movie trailers, of course -- as Hollywood studios see a large audience viewing clips for free.
Google used to have the Google Video service that offered paid content, but the site was never a big hit among Internet users, with Google pulling the plug shortly after the YouTube acquisition in Oct. 2006. Google is desperately trying to turn YouTube into a profitable business, as the bandwidth necessary to host so many videos to such a wide audience is extremely costly.
Are you interested in watching full-length feature films on YouTube, or will you continue to use Netflix, Hulu and other similar services?
