YouTube Expands Movie Rentals to Offer 3,000 Titles

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Google's YouTube has expanded its online movie rental service to include roughly 3,000 titles, according to a blog post published Monday by a top executive at the company.

In a post titled "Welcome to the future of video," YouTube head Salar Kamangar writes that the site's rental offerings will include move trailers and parodies as well as full-length films. Kamangar added that the rentals will be available only to users in the United States, a point to be elaborated on "in a post later today."

A later post from the company noted that the current selection, expanded "from hundreds of free movies available on the site since 2009," will include classics like "Caddyshack" as well as newer releases like the Oscar-winning film "The King's Speech." Prices for the rentals range from $0.99 to $3.99.

The online video push by heavyweight YouTube, bought by Google in 2006, lands it alongside NetFlix and recent-entrant Amazon , among others. Competition for online video users has stiffened in recent years as viewership through traditional mediums, like television, has declined.