Google Reportedly Launching YouTube Movie Service in UK

Google is planning to launch an unlimited subscription of its YouTube movie service in UK, according to a report from NewYork Post.

Google's move would be putting it in direct competition with Amazon, which recently bought London-based online video rental firm Lovefilm for $200 million and launched unlimited streaming service for its Prime members.

California-based Google, which has been in talks with Hollywood studios for months, is planning to launch the streaming service first in Europe before expanding to the US, the report said.

The report also said Google has allocated $100 million to sign content deals with studios and other content providers.

Google's move comes at a time when rivals such as Amazon and Netflix are set to expand aggressively in the European market.

Recently, Washington-based Amazon said its Prime members can now stream unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of more than 5,000 movies and TV shows at no additional cost. Prime membership will continue to be $79 per year. The online retailer could leverage its acquisition of London-based Lovefilm to expand in UK.

Meanwhile, California-based rival Netflix, which has nearly 17 million subscribers, is also said to be targeting the European market.

We're now talking about other regions in the world, a company spokesman told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp in December. Based on the early success of Netflix Canada, we're going to continue our international expansion next year and we're going to allocate significant dollars to it.