YouTube Adds 3,000 Movie Titles for Rent

SAN BRUNO: A selection of feature-film releases from Sony, Warner Bros. and Universal are available for online rental on YouTube, including recent blockbuster hits such as Despicable Me, The King’s Speech and Inception.

The online video site’s expansion into movie rentals began last year with a selection of titles from the Sundance Film Festival. This week, the service added some 3,000 full-length feature films from the studios, among them Caddyshack, Goodfellas, Scarface, Taxi Driver, Little Fockers, The Green Hornet and more. Recent releases are priced at $3.99 for a 24-hour rental (users have 30 days to begin watching the film), older titles are $2.99.

In a blog post, Camille Hearst, product marketing manager, and Matt Darby, product manager, note that the site (which is going up against the likes of iTunes and Netflix) offers a "movie experience" that extends well beyond the film. "With 35 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube, there’s a sea of content that can add to your movie experience. Many movie pages feature YouTube Movie Extras—free behind-the-scenes videos, cast interviews, parodies, clips and remixes from YouTube’s unique community of content creators. Movie pages also showcase reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, so you’ll see feedback from critics before you decide what movie to get into. Over time we’ll also be adding additional videos and features to YouTube Movie Extras so that you can get even more into movies on YouTube."

In a separate blog post, Salar Kamangar, the head of YouTube, states, "Six years ago, there were also two types of video: video you watched on your TV, and video you watched on your laptop. Today there’s increasingly just video, and it’s available everywhere: on a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a television screen, in your office, on your couch, in a cab. YouTube isn’t about one type of device or one type of video. Content from traditional media partners, made-for-web and personal videos all co-exist on the site."

The blog concludes, "While six years ago you had to move device, room and platform to get all the video that matters most to you, today you can find it all on YouTube. By expanding our content partnerships worldwide and stimulating the success of budding filmmakers, artists and entrepreneurs, we’ll ensure that YouTube remains the best place for the world to see and discover rich talent."