Google (GOOG) cans pay-per-video

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has confirmed it will end a 19-month experiment that looked doomed from the start. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google Video, the service that sold and rented the right to watch a wide range of videos for anywhere from a couple of dollars to $20, will stop showing paid programming on Wednesday. The service was expected to underscore Google's intention to create a revenue-based online video forum, a la YouTube, which Google owns. It obviously didn't work.

Donna Bogatin of InsiderChatter.com called Google Video a "YouTube wannabe" and jokingly questioned Google's recent decision to pull the plug on a service where many of their pay-to-see videos were actually YouTube videos on a Google viewer.

To compensate customers who will no longer be able to use the videos they purchased, Google is providing a refund in the form of credits that can be used in conjunction with its online payment service, Google Checkout. Check out the email they sent to users on Cnet news.com. Google declined to reveal exactly how many people purchased videos through Google Video or the total refund amount to its customers, but a spokesman said it would not materially impact the company. With YouTube and hundreds of other websites that provide free clips on the internet, it's clear that Google didn't have to cough up a lot of refund credits to the viewing public.