With the popularity of video streaming services as an alternative to watching TV shows on an actual TV, it looks like the way we consume media has been changing over the past few years. One major reason, aside from having videos on demand, is that these are ad-free platforms, and as analysts say, consumers are “learning to avoid advertising” and some are even willing to pay to do it. This is what YouTube is currently looking at, and reports say they will soon offer a monthly subscription service for users.
This will be great news for consumers who are sick of having to always look at ads (and some you can’t even skip) when all you want to do is watch your music videos or your funny clips or your how-to tutorials. And this is even better news for content creators who may not be earning as much because ad revenues aren’t what they used to be. According to the letter sent out to video creators, the tech giant wants to generate a new source of revenue for both parties by creating paid offering.
Google has actually been heading this route, with YouTube’s Music Key Beta, where you pay $10 a month to have unlimited streaming of your favorite music, without ads as well. They also started having a paid channel for premium content since 2013. So this is a logical move for Google and YouTube, and they are already investing in millions to create original content, so might as well monetize on that.
YouTube said they cannot comment yet since discussions are still ongoing but they confirmed that their priorities are giving people more choices in consuming content and at the same time, creating revenue for those content creators. There isn’t any clear idea as well as to how much this would cost, but it will probably be at a competitive rate with Netflix’s $8-$12 per month service.
VIA: Bloomberg
