Fox and Paramount have said they will “not move forward with any deal at this time." Disney hasn't said anything final, one way or the other, while Warner Bros., Sony and Universal have just concluded deals to license content to YouTube for rental.
Executives at the hold-out studios reportedly are not opposed to a deal, but want more assurance from Google that it will take a harder line on piracy, specifically linking to pirate sites in Google searches or selling advertising on such sites.
But it seems likely all the studios ultimately will want to work with YouTube. Its 130 million potential buyers represent a huge audience, and are especially interesting demographically. YouTube viewers skew younger, and probably are the sorts of viewers unaccustomed to buying video and might be only lukewarm about the theater experience.
In the online video business, it often is the content owners who dictate the pace of movement, even when other partners are willing.
