YouTube to offer paid TV and compete with iTunes?

7th December, 2009 by adina
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Google is supposed to compete with iTunes soon by offering paid video streams through YouTube. Multiple sources reveal that YouTube had contacted studios to allow it to charge for streaming individual TV episodes and not for downloading them. The system is supposed cost $2 per show, similar to downloadable services, and would be available within a day after the appearance of the episode on TV. Shows would come without any commercial ads. Even if not stated as such in the MediaMemo slip, the cost would give unlimited access to every show and would allow “cloud” streaming to devices that natively can handle YouTube, computers or other, such as the iPhone, some HDTV models or networked set-top boxes.

The deal might be very close to be concluded, but there is no such information available.

Google is promoting professionally made content and is known to offer only a small amount of TV shows and movies, but has limited them to older material and has chosen some free ad-sponsored versions instead of choosing direct purchases. Distributing streaming TV paid content on YouTube would increase its commercial component, but risks to deepen the rift between Google and Apple, because the two would not only produce computer and phone operating systems, but content stores also.

Apple itself is believed to intend to break away the pay-per-show system and instead offer a $30 subscription which would provide unlimited or almost unlimited TV shows every month.


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