Here’s something to be thankful for: YouTube will now rent out Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks flicks on demand.
The video-sharing site added movie rentals from the three major studios today. Films from series such as as Cars, Winnie the Pooh, and Pirates of the Caribbean are now available for rental from $0.99 to $3.99.
And you won’t even have to risk death or serious injury among hoards of Black Friday shoppers.
In the past, YouTube has featured on-demand rentals from studios such as Lionsgate, Sony, and Warner Bros., but have not been as successful as full-time competitors Netflix, Hulu, and even Amazon Video On Demand.
The fact that YouTube has managed to make deals with huge companies like Disney and Pixar is a possible sign of good things to come. Disney had previously denied negotiations between video-on-demand (VOD) services such as UltraViolet, citing support for its own VOD service, Keychest.
What this means for the future of YouTube’s rental service, and Disney’s own Keychest service is yet to be known. However, it seems like a good step for YouTube: Disney may be the major supporter that they need to help recruit other huge-name studios.
And it’s a possibly-not-so-great step for Disney: if the company had faith in their still-under-development VOD service, they might not be so eager to share with YouTube. But who knows?
Will you be renting Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks films from YouTube? What do you think this means for the future of both parties? Let us know in the comments.
(via USAToday)
