Google is looking to expand YouTube into ppv

[Dpantherman]

By Suzanne Choney, MSNBC

Buh-bye Blockbuster, hello Google! The search giant — and owner of YouTube — is reportedly negotiating with Hollywood studios to launch a pay-per-view service by the end of the year.

The Financial Times reports that Google will launch the service first in the United States, but in its talks with studios has emphasized the "international appeal of a streaming, on-demand movie service pegged to the world’s most popular search engine and YouTube, according to several people with knowledge of the situation," the FT said.

"Google and YouTube are a global phenomenon with a hell of a lot of eyeballs — more than any cable or satellite service," one executive "with knowledge of the plans" told the FT. "They’ve talked about how many people they could steer to this . . . it’s a huge number.”

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