YouTube to host movies for free in the UK

The UK division of YouTube has struck deals with movie studios such as Sony Pictures and even some from Bollywood as well as with the British online movie rental service Blinkbox and will provide free access to around 400 feature films.

Blinkbox normally charges 2 pounds for on demand access to its movie catalogue, but will allow free access to 165 movies through YouTube. It receives a part of the advertising revenue generated around its movies and hopes to reach new audiences by pairing up with YouTube.

Donagh O’Malley says in The Guardian: "This is one of many efforts to ensure that people can find all the different kinds of video they want to see, from bedroom vlogs and citizen journalism reports to full-length films and TV shows."

The video site already offers access to TV shows in the UK through deals with Channel 4 and 5.

In the US, YouTube has hosted movies since April, with a mixture of both free and paid access. The UK division is considering adopting a paid model in the future, too.

This is a great move to allow quick, easy and convenient online access to quality content that we hope, now it has crossed the Atlantic, will cross the Channel and become available in The Netherlands, too.