YouTube has launched an expanded version of its video rental service.
The Google-owned site originally trialled rentals in January over a ten-day period, with five films featured from this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
When we announced YouTube Rentals in January we said we would be creating a destination after more partners joined the program. To date, we have nearly 500 partners that have joined our Rental program
The number of videos on the site has now grown to include several Hollywood blockbusters, such as Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and recent awards hit Precious. Full-length films are priced between $1.99 and $3.99, with several documentaries and TV episode available for 99 cents.
Users can pay for films through Google Checkout, but the rental service is currently only available in the US.
“When we announced YouTube Rentals in January we said we would be creating a destination after more partners joined the program. To date, we have nearly 500 partners that have joined our Rental program,” a spokesperson from the site told the NewTeeVee blog.
Reports on how much the original trial made for Google vary between $6,000 and $10,000, but the introduction of well-known titles and the increased selection may help improve upon those modest figures.
Google is taking aim at established online rental sites such as Amazon, NetFlix and Apple iTunes, and is another step along the path to profitability, which Google chief Eric Schmidt said was the company’s chief aim this year.
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