YouTube eyes pay-per-view films

1:36 PM PDT 10/14/2010 by Staff report, AP

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Move would put it in more direct competition with Apple

Google's YouTube video service is in talks with Hollywood studios to launch a streaming pay-per-view movie service by year's end.

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The Financial Times reported that the service is expected to launch in the U.S. and then get rolled out globally. The move would put YouTube into more direct competition with Apple and others, such as Hulu and Netflix, as players try to become the preferred destination for distribution of content in the digital age.

Hollywood seems intrigued by the idea of YouTube's big reach, according to the FT report.
It said newer film titles would cost about $5 on the planned on-demand streaming service.

The news of the planned YouTube film service launch comes after Google top executives wooed studios and guilds during a chat with reporters on the sidelines of Herb Allen's annual Sun Valley media mogul gathering in July.