31st Aug 10
Google targets iTunes with YouTube streams
by Katie Naylor
Google is reportedly in discussions with movie studios across Hollywood that would ultimately allow the internet giant to broadcast feature films over its popular YouTube service. The move could put them in direct competition with Apple’s iTunes.
The report by The Financial Times also acknowledged that the current proposal would see a pay-per-view format through YouTube, which would allow users to pay a nominal fee, estimated at $5 per viewing, for both TV shows and the latest releases of feature films.
The current proposal would likely debut in the US, although experts agree that it would not be long before the initiative expanded internationally. Google purchased YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion, and as of late has made great strides in improving the video site. In April, YouTube began to offer 48-hour film rentals for prices ranging from 99 cents to $3.99 a piece, depending on the title of the feature, and Google has also updated its YouTube mobile site, promising faster access with more user-friendly features.
According to YouTube product manager Andrey Doronichev, the use of mobile devices on the YouTube site have increased exponentially, with mobile video playbacks now surpassing a whopping 100 million each day. He noted that this is about the same number of total video playbacks that YouTube experienced by computer users when the company was bought by Google in 2006.
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