YouTube Said to Consider Pay Movies
By MIGUEL HELFT
Published: September 2, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO — YouTube, the Web’s largest video site, is in negotiations with major Hollywood studios over an agreement that would allow it to stream movies to users for a fee, according to a person briefed on the company’s plans.
If a deal is reached, it would be a major change for YouTube, which has largely offered free content supported by advertising. It would also put YouTube, which is owned by Google, in direct competition with services from Netflix, Amazon and Apple, which allow users to buy or rent movies online.
YouTube, which already offers some older free movies on its site, is talking with Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony and Warner Brothers about making newer titles available on the site, the person said. Scott Rowe, a spokesman for Warner Brothers, declined to comment, and representatives for the other two studios were not immediately available.
YouTube, which has long sought to expand the amount of professionally produced content that is available on its site, declined to comment on the negotiations. “While we don’t comment on rumor and speculation, we hope to expand both on our great relationships with movie studios and on the selection and types of videos we offer our community,” the company said in a statement.
Movie studios have been pushing YouTube to consider charging for certain types of content, the person briefed on the discussions said. YouTube appears willing to do so if the studios agree to give it access to enough of their newer films when they become available on DVD, the person said.
YouTube has been on a long quest to obtain more professionally produced content that it can use to generate revenue that will offset the enormous costs of storing and delivering millions of free video clips. In recent months, Google executives have said that thanks to a host of new advertising initiatives tied to professional content, YouTube was inching closer to profitability. But they declined to say when the site would cross that line.
Google has charged for video rentals and downloads in the past through Google Video. But less than a year after acquiring YouTube in October 2006, it stopped offering the paid video service.
The negotiations between YouTube and the studios were first reported on the Web site of The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/technology/internet/03tube.html
YouTube Said To consider Pay Movies
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