Google Discussing Streaming Movie Rentals with Major Studios

Posted 08/30/2010 at 2:33pm | by Pulkit Chandna

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Google has been quietly dabbling in streaming movie rentals since the beginning of this year. YouTube's repertoire of rentable movies continues to grow at a steady pace, but the service commands little attention. That is likely to change in the next few months as big G plans to add streaming movie rentals from major film studios to its catalog, according to a Financial Times report that cites several sources familiar with ongoing negotiations between Google and the movie studios.

The plan is to launch the streaming movie rental service, or more accurately its expanded avatar, in the US first, before offering it to the rest of the world. New titles will be available for streaming at the same time as their Blu-ray and DVD releases, with each movie rental costing $5.

If none of the movies in YouTube's current catalog impress you, or if you live in a country where the service is currently unavailable, then you could consider scouring its Movies channel, a repository of free streaming movies that recently received a massive shot in the arm through partnerships with movies studios like Lionsgate, MGM and Sony Pictures. The channel now boasts 400 free movies that can be watched from anywhere in the world.