Video
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. are talking with YouTube about offering new releases, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks arent public. The discussions are preliminary, both people said yesterday.
YouTube, which gets the bulk of its videos from users, is adding professionally produced material to lure more advertisers. The San Bruno, California-based Internet company agreed last month to carry excerpts from Time Warner Inc.s CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, adding to the vault of older films and advertiser-supported clips from television programs.
“Googles trying to find ways to better monetize this very good asset,” said Andy Miedler, an analyst with Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis who recommends the shares and doesnt own any. “As long as the economics make sense, I certainly applaud them for trying to increase the revenue stream.”
Chris Dale, a YouTube spokesman, declined to comment on “rumors or speculation.”
“We hope to expand on both our great relationships with movie studios and on the selection and types of videos we offer our community,” Dale said, without being more specific. The Wall Street Journal reported the talks yesterday, saying Warner Bros. was also involved in the discussions.
Digital Expansion
Lions Gate, based in Vancouver and run from Santa Monica, California, is interested in ways to sell television shows and films online, Peter Wilkes, a spokesman, said in an interview.
The independent film studio sold 2 million downloads of its cable-television program “Mad Men” on Apple Inc.s iTunes store in the past year, Wilkes said.
“We are always exploring alternatives for monetizing our content in a digital environment,” Wilkes said.
YouTubes service would compete with online film rentals offered by Amazon.com Inc. and Apples iTunes. Cupertino, California-based Apple and Seattle-based Amazon.com both advertise online rentals for $3.99.
Jim Kennedy, a spokesman for Sony Pictures Entertainment in Culver City, California, declined to comment, as did Jim Noonan of Time Warners Warner Bros. in Burbank, California.
YouTubes Popularity
Googles sites accounted for 9 billion videos viewed in the U.S. during July, mostly from YouTube, attracting 42 percent of the online video market, according to ComScore Inc. of Reston, Virginia.
No other service had more than 5 percent of the market, according to ComScore. More than 158 million viewers watched an average of 135 videos in July, a record audience.
Separately, YouTube said it will resume showing music videos in the United Kingdom after reaching an agreement with PRS for Music, an organization that collects royalties for composers. YouTube said in March it was blocking access to music videos in the U.K. after negotiations broke down with PRS, partly over fees.
The videos will begin showing on YouTube in the coming days, the company said on its Web site.
Google fell $2.75 to $453.01 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Lions Gate slid 15 cents to $6.30 and New York- based Time Warner gained 14 cents to $27.41. Tokyo-based Sonys U.S.-traded shares fell 10 cents to $26.29.