This one is said to be “imminent” and possibly launching as soon as today or as late as next week. YouTube will begin renting movies, allowing you to pay a little money to watch movies on the day they go to DVD. Currently, Netflix has a waiting period before the movies become available. Sony, Warner Bros, and Universal are all on board with the plan. Disney, Fox, and Paramount are not. Prices will start at $2 but it’s not yet clear how long you have to watch the movie or whether you can watch it multiple times. The quicker availability is an advantage over Netflix and iTunes but I’m pretty dubious about this enterprise. Is there a critical mass of laptop customers for this? At least with Netflix and iTunes you can watch stuff on your TV relatively easily. With Netflix it’s a subscription so you don’t worry about buying stuff and with iTunes it’s an account you already have set up. Are people going to be comfortable buying through Google?
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