MGM first to post feature-length films to YouTube
It was reported late last week (and finalized in company memos today) that MGM will be the first studio to post feature-length movies on YouTube. The deal was first reported by the New York Times here.
I’d say this was an essential movement for the commercial survival of the site, and most tech commentators i’ve read agree with that assessment. Hulu.com was mostly to blame for YouTube’s change of strategy, as ad dollars were starting to flow over to Hulu, whereas YouTube was seen as a kiddie vehicle for quick video clips, and was losing traffic to Hulu.
Who knows if it will be enough, but it’s a start, and more studios are expected to follow MGM’s lead and migrate some properties to be viewable on YouTube. It’ll be interesting to see how this race goes; it could affect the future of video streaming entertainment content on the web and who controls it.
You knew it would happen: YouTube to offer feature length films
Hollywood has discovered YouTube. Some would say “It’s about time!”, and some would say, “Long movie clips and copyrighted stuff are already on YouTube, so what’s the big deal?”
YouTube will begin offering feature films produced by at least one of the biggest Hollywood movie studios, probably starting in December, according to an inside executive with an entertainment company.
For months, Google, YouTube’s parent company, has been talking to the major film companies about launching a strreaming movie service that would be ad-supported, according to reports on a number of websites. It’s expected to launch (assuming things go well) in the next “30-90 days” according to insider statements.
The usual concerns are springing up: why bring ads to the site, will the site start charging at some point for services that are already free, etc. but this could be a boom for the small indie films to help them get an audience without the expense typically associated with getting one.
More of the details here: Link
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