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YouTube's movie rental test posts dismal profits
Charging only $3.99, the films picked up 2,684 views and pulled in only $10,709 total. While the "big guys" in the movie rental business such as NetFlix, Apple and Amazon are certainly not intimidated by such a paltry sum, YouTube says it's happy with the outcome of the test. According to Google, the results "exceeded our expectations given all the barriers" and it looks like we can expect a larger movie rental presence from YouTube in the future.
While nothing is finalized, YouTube says it will be pulling in new video partners and start offering rentals on various sections of their website on a short-term basis. It'll be interesting to see how they fares up against larger companies if their rental service grows.
[via NYTimes.com]
Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsaanidaaniFeb 3rd 2010 7:36PM
I don't really see this as a problem with the rental system. Rather it's the fact that no one cares too much about Sundance films...
Sgt ZeppelinFeb 3rd 2010 7:55PM
Haha, exactly! If they'd offer movies people actually want to watch, I bet their profits would go way up.
MoronFeb 3rd 2010 11:40PM
Yeah, geeze, when can I rent a digital copy of White Chicks for $3.99! Give me GI Joe! Give me When in Rome! Give me Boondock Saints II! Not this "quality" crap that people put a lot of thought and effort into making.
rokubungiFeb 3rd 2010 7:54PM
Or the fact that most people wouldn't pay 3.99 for a streaming movie rental period. When other online streaming services get down to the prices of netflix for UNLIMITED streaming we'll see more interest in them.
"only $3.99" HA!!!
AerospeedFeb 3rd 2010 10:42PM
Are hardcore YouTube users really the demographic who'd be watching $4 indie movie rentals? Maybe only when a "Fred" movie premiers at Sundance...
SlongFeb 3rd 2010 11:43PM
Not surprising, given that it's a stupid idea to begin with. YouTube, now there's a name I think of when I think of quality content I want to pay for. $4 for a digital rental? How much to rent it in BluRay? Or just get Netflix.
Andre RamonFeb 4th 2010 1:25AM
$3.99 I thought was a misprint. We have watched at least 30 movies in the last few weeks on Netflix for only $8.99. Good movies that people have heard of. That is an outrageous amount of money for a rental, even if it was a Blu-Ray delivered to my house. Try charging much less per movie or offer unlimited streaming and it would be successful with an aggressive advertising campaign. Now they just seem silly.