YouTube May Launch Subscription Video Service

Everybody loves Raymond. No, wait, I mean YouTube. Everybody loves YouTube. YouTube is at the heart of every person’s favourites bar. No matter where you are, you can view the Google-owned service to watch your favourite US classic comedy, sports moments, music videos, lol cats or whatever else you can think of. YouTube has it all. But what if the really good content that we all know and love was no longer free?

There is a fresh rumour that has arisen via a comment that was deeply buried inside a Variety report, which reveals the popular video site is “exploring the prospect of launching its own subscription VOD service.” This rumour apparently comes from an unnamed executive who works at a company who partners with YouTube to produce video content.

It is assumed the new service would offer ad-free streaming of high quality video content. This content would likely include media from YouTube stars that fall under the YouTube Originals banner.

If this kind of service was to actually become a reality, then we think it would be similar to YouTube Music Key. Music Key provides ad-free access to selected music videos and free streaming from Google Play Music. Currently the introductory price for the service is $7.99 per month.

If YouTube was to make this move, who could blame them? I mean there are lots of media companies that rest upon a subscription model. You only need to look at the likes of Vimeo, Hulu, and Vessel,to see this is a viable strategy.

These video sites are working hard to tempt YouTube stars and content creators to host their videos on their sites in an exchange for a more profitable percentage of advertising revenue.

If YouTube did turn to a paid subscription service, they would not only be able to offer additional funds to the content creators, but also help strengthen the parent company’s financial status.

[Image via tangerinedigital]

SOURCE: The Verge