Google has confirmed that it will be adding 3000 movies to its YouTube movie rental service.
It is unclear what films will be available but reports have stated that Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. have all signed up.
Says Salar Kamangar, Head of YouTube:
Today, we’re going to start adding around 3,000 new movie titles for rent available to users in the U.S. (more on this in a post later today) that will be accompanied by reviews and behind-the-scenes movie extras. Whether it’s short movie trailers, funny movie parodies or full-length blockbuster films, we encourage you to sit back and settle in to the YouTube movies experience.
In addition to expanding our movie offerings, we’re also bolstering our investment in the content that’s already being viewed by hundred of millions of people on YouTube. Our 20,000+ partners—folks like Machinima, Annoying Orange and Ryan Higa—are producing original content for the web and commanding TV-size audiences for their own brand of programming. Through YouTube Next, we’re helping fuel the creation of this type of content with initiatives like the YouTube Creator Institute and YouTube NextUp, following past initiatives like Partner Grants (which brought us Key of Awesome, creators of one of 2010’s most-watched videos) and $1,000 B&H Photo credits. In the coming year, we’ll bring even more content to YouTube. Building on the success of Partner Grants and YouTube NextUp, we’re providing even more resources to creators who you’ll know from TV or Hollywood, and to existing YouTube partners who have already built loyal audiences on the site. Look out for more details on this in the coming months.
Result for: audiences
Hulu, the United States’ long-time second most popular streaming video site saw its viewership nosedive for the month ended June 30th, after comScore changed their measurement methods.
In May, the site had an estimated 44 million viewers, says comScore, with that number falling to 24 million in June.
The giant drop was the largest of any of the top Internet video sites, dropping the site from second to tenth, in terms of online video traffic in the U.S.
While the number drop seems huge, the new numbers mainly underscore a different and lingering problem; the fact that measuring online audiences remains unreliable.
Three companies, ComScore, Nielsen and Quantcast, each measure differently, so numbers may be similar but never equal.
Says one digital media strategist of the difference in numbers, and the overall problem of unreliability: “You would think 15 years on, we would be in a better place. But we’re still talking about fundamental discrepancies in things like page counts.”
Result for: audiences
IFC Entertainment has announced that 53 documentaries and other independent titles will now be available through Netflix’s popular Watch Instantly streaming service.
A few of the films included are the Errol Morris documentaries “The Thin Blue Line” and “Gates of Heaven, Christopher Nolan’s debut, “Following,” and “When Will I Be Loved.” For foreign films, the movies include the hits “Brothers” and “Gabrielle,” among many others.
The streaming service is free for users who have unlimited Netflix subscriptions, which start at $8.99, and is available on PC, Macs, and a plethora of devices including the PS3 and Xbox 360.
“Netflix has always championed independent cinema and has creatively built audiences for films in this genre, and we’re excited to give their customers instant access to this wide-ranging collection of independent film,” adds Lisa Schwartz, executive VP at IFC Entertainment, via VB. “Our top priority is to make independent film available to a wider audience, and this partnership further underscores that commitment.”
Robert Kyncl, VP of content acquisition at Netflix says: “Partnering with IFC Films gives us the opportunity to expand the number of quality films that our subscribers can watch instantly. This deal reinforces our commitment to bringing diversity to the library and properties like this collection of titles bring us closer to that goal.”
