Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has announced a deal with Paramount Pictures, owned by Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB), that will add 500 Paramount titles (including “The Godfather”) to its video rental store on YouTube. Google already offers video rentals from Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), and Universal Studios, owned by Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA). Google now claims to have 9,000 titles availabe for rent.
The interesting part of this is that Paramount, like the other studios, simply won’t give in on streaming. Movie rentals have to be downloaded and played as if from a DVD. How long do the studios think viewers are going to want to do that? These guys have had years to figure out a way to make money on streaming and the best they could do is Hulu. And the studios have even crippled that.
And of course, the studios are still fighting with YouTube and Google over copyright violations.
The studios know that content is king, but they appear to be determined to keep the king locked in an iron mask for as long as they can. Hey, that’s a great idea for a movie…
Paul Ausick
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