YouTube plans unprecedented move: to charge users for video

Google owned online video website YouTube is negotiating with a number of major movie studios about renting videos to users by streaming the movies over the Internet as reported by sources with the knowledge of the matter. This is will be the first time YouTube would charge its users for watching videos online.

YouTube is in talks with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, Sony Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, and Time Warner Inc's Warner Brothers about online movie rentals, the sources report.

In many cases, the movies would be available for rental for a fee in a system similar to Web rental programs from Apple Inc's iTunes, Netflix and Amazon.com with newer movies. YouTube would likely charge a similar fee around $3.99 a rental.

YouTube, a No.1 video website in the world, currently offers video for free, on an advertising-supported basis.