YouTube, Sony Pictures in talks over feature films

[xtop]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10212585-93.html

YouTube is in talks to acquire licensing rights to full-length content from Sony Pictures, home of such films as "The International" and "Spider-Man," sources familiar with the negotiations told CNET News. Details about what a final agreement could look like are sparse, but any partnership between the two powerhouses would likely benefit both.

Representatives from both companies declined to comment.

Word of the negotiations comes a week after Disney announced it had licensed short-form content to YouTube. Those clips will come from a range of Disney brands, including ABC and ESPN. For YouTube, obtaining short-form clips from Disney is an important step but still doesn't provide what YouTube needs most.

Founded in 2005, YouTube made a name for itself by showcasing amateur-made snippets as well as hosting scores of illegally posted clips from the best TV shows and films. YouTube has done much to rid the site of pirated content, but the flip side is that most of the hot shows and films that generated big viewership are gone. At the same time, a host of Web video services are offering full-length films and TV episodes online. To compete, YouTube is trying to get access to the same premium content but has so far only acquired a handful of films from the archives of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Sony Pictures' Web video property, Crackle, could mean a major boost to YouTube's long-form hopes.

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[dpomp]

Originally Posted by xtop

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10212585-93.html



hit up the link for the full article

hm..... not sure how i feel about this. i know me personally, i can't stand watching a movie on my computer. but i know that many people do like it. does this mean that they will possibly start charging to use youtube?? i don't know.

the whole digital copy thing doesn't do anything for me. i love my physical copies. it's just one more step towards them limiting the number of times you can view your movies you paid for and how many computers you can watch it on. not a good thing IMHO

[jkwest]

good lord....this will be horrible...