allheart55 (Cindy E)
Administrator
Not one hour after we heard YouTube had "tentatively agreed" to offer The Interview as a rental, Sony Pictures has confirmed the film will be available online starting today at 1PM ET. It'll be offered through YouTube Movies, Google Play, Xbox Videos, and a dedicated website SeeTheInterview.com.
Here's the YouTube link.
The film will cost $5.99 to rent and $14.99 to own an HD copy. Notably absent from the list: Apple's iTunes, which reportedly said no despite White House involvement, and Sony's own PlayStation Network.
In an lengthier statement, Google said that after talking with Sony, the two companies "agreed that we could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country (however silly the content might be)."
Sony's dedicated SeeTheInterview.com, which as of 1PM ET seems to be having some issues, will be powered by Stripe, who previously has worked with EFF.
More distributors are likely to follow but not necessarily on Christmas Day. Variety reports that Netflix is in talks and could potentially offer it to stream "within a few days." And while iTunes wasn't reportedly interested "at least not a speedy time table," that doesn't mean it won't be available sooner rather than later. (It's worth noting that you should be able to rent The Interview on Apple TV through the YouTube channel.)
