YouTube has quietly rolled out a rentals service that offers both movies and tv shows. Costing between $.99 and $3.99 for 48 hours, the fee is paid with Google Checkout. By entering the "pay for rental" market, Google is now in competitions with Netflix, Apple (iTunes) and Microsoft (Xbox Marketplace rentals).
According to ReadWriteWeb.com, it is expected that YouTube will make this announcement sometime today. This seems logical as why would YouTube open a store but not announce it publically. You can currently access the store at www.youtube.com/store.
With Hulu rumored to be entering the "pay for market" too, it only makes sense to see YouTube follow a similar business model. As users become more comfortable paying for digital only content, it"s one step closer to the death of physical media.