Google Australia joins movie on-demand market
The online movie rental sector just got more competitive with YouTube Australia launching a streaming film service.
The Google-owned platform has joined the video on demand market where companies such as Mubi, BigPond, Mubi, Fetch TV and Quickflix, which recently saw a $10m investment from HBO, have been trying to make their mark.
YouTube Movies will go out to both YouTube and the Google Play app store.
A Google spokesperson told Encore: “It’s accessible on both YouTube on desktop computers and Google Play through phone or tablet apps. It will also sync from desktop to phone, so you can start watching it on your desktop, leave the house and pick up where you left off on your phone.”
New releases will begin at $5.99 with older titles taking $3.99 for standard versions and $4.99 for the same film in high definition.
There are as yet no plans for online premieres or creating original content as competitor Netflix has started doing in the US.
The service has signed deals with The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Hopscotch Films, Transmission Films, Icon Film Distribution, Lionsgate and Village Roadshow Pictures.
Customers will have 30 days to begin watching the film and once started 48 hours to finish it.
The service is already offered in the US.
