• The Wrap, Tuesday, April 26, 2011 11:55 AM

Determined to break into the movie rental business, YouTube is reportedly ready to relaunch its movie-on-demand service with the help of some top studios. New studio partners include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Brothers and Universal, all of whom have licensed their movies for the new service, according to TheWrap. "The new service means a full-bore challenge to Apple's iTunes service -- currently the most powerful player in paid video streaming -- and a welcome new revenue stream for Hollywood as home entertainment revenues continue their steep decline," TheWrap writes.

"With the premium movie-on-demand service, film lovers will be able to stream new releases for as little as $2, though prices will differ for each movie," the Guardian reports. YouTube, in a statement, said it's been renting movies for a year, but TheWrap insists the new service is far more robust. "Of course, YouTube already has a movie store," notes GigaOm. "The site opened the store a year ago, but consumers largely chose to ignore the offering, despite some well-known movies."

"There's nothing new about streaming movies on YouTube," paidContent seconds. "What would be new? Getting a large amount of premium content, charging for it and making serious money." "If Google is indeed serious about increasing the quality of YouTube content and offering a movie rental service than it has to compete with Apple's iTunes, which currently has deals with Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Sony, MGM, Lionsgate and New Line Cinema, charging $2.99 per rental," writes TechCrunch.

"In the recent March quarter, Apple generated a record $1.4 billion in revenue from the iTunes online store, though it's unclear what portion of that figure consisted of movie rentals," AppleInsider notes.

Read the whole story at The Wrap »