YouTube to launch its own on-demand film service

YouTube is said to be launching its own on-demand Hollywood film stream, in direct competion with Apple’s iTunes, according to reports today in the Daily Mail.

The service is expected to begin as early as this week after having licences granted by a number of major studios including Sony , Warner Brothers and Universal, and independent studios such as Lionsgate and Kino Lorber.

As part of the agreement, YouTube’s 130 million monthly users will be able to pay to watch movies as they come out into the DVD market.