YouTube is already on set-top boxes and Google TV, bringing free, ad-supported videos to big screen TVs. As of yet, no boxes or even Google TV have offered YouTube movie rentals for viewing on televisions, so the service remains online — with the exception of connecting your PC to your TV.
This may soon change, according to recent rumors that suggest Google TV will support the movie rentals.
“The reality is that, right now, for all the content YouTube is collecting, it simply is not on a level playing field with Apple and Apple TV, Netflix and Amazon’s Prime,” Mashable writes. “These services are on set-top boxes (Apple has its own) that plug directly into your HDTV. No concerns about whether or not DRM rights will prevent movie playback. The experience for renting a movie on any of them is seamless.”
If the rumors are true, it remains to be seen whether other set-top boxes will get access to YouTube movie rentals.
“YouTube’s legacy is free, bite-sized content supported mostly by ad overlays, no one will want to pay for content that was originally free on, say, broadcast television on YouTube — unless, of course YouTube offers an ad-free network,” suggests the article. “Then viewers might pay a monthly fee for the privilege.”
Despite YouTube’s deals with studios to gain access to more content — such as the Paramount agreement, announced Wednesday — it is still primarily used for watching viral videos and Google could have a hard time getting consumers to view the site as a competitive alternative to other popular VOD services.
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