Online movie rollout props up YouTube
Google Inc's agreement to show Sony Corp's The Interview gave its YouTube video-streaming website a chance to show that it is more than just a destination for amusing cat videos.
The controversial movie, available on Christmas Day on Google Play and YouTube Movies for $5.99 to rent and $14.99 to own, topped the charts on YouTube's movie store.
The Interview added to a growing collection of films offered by Google that include Divergent and The Lego Movie, and is part of its drive to bolster premium content to compete with Apple Inc's music and video library. Google, which runs the most popular Internet-search engine, is also seeking to keep users coming to its Web properties as digital rivals such as Netflix Inc and Hulu LLC draw more Internet traffic. The Interview gave Google the chance to prove to a wider audience that it can sell premium content, according to James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc.
