YouTube To Allow Video Rentals

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 20, 2010 @10:28PM from the viral-rentals dept.

poopdeville writes "Starting Friday, Google and YouTube will allow movie rentals. The first five films available to rent through YouTube will cost $3.99 for a 48-hour viewing period. Movie studios will be able to set their own prices, with rental viewing windows ranging from one to 90 days. YouTube will get an unspecified commission from each rental. Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuch expects YouTube to generate about $700 million in revenue this year, an estimated 55 percent increase from 2009. If YouTube hits that target, it likely will turn profitable, helping to justify the $1.76 billion in stock that Google paid for the site more than three years ago."

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Re:No thanks by Anonymous Coward · 2010-01-20 23:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

It costs them less to provide the service online. Each buyer provides part of the infrastructure. They avoid the expense of disks not returned, disks damaged, paying staff and maintaing kiosks. Fewer employees are needed per transaction to sell the product.
If it costs less to provide the price should be fall accordingly.
Pizza on the other hand costs more to deliver.