YouTube to introduce paid-for content this year

[Jazzy]

YouTube, the Google-owned video website, is to offer paid subscriptions to some premium content later this year.



YouTube has asked several of its contributors to submit applications to create paid-for channels.



The first channels will reportedly be available to users by the spring for between $1 and $5 per month.



YouTube plans to keep around 45 per cent of the subscription revenue themselves, with the rest going to the producers of the content.



The world's No. 1 video website has been moving to add professional-grade videos to the vast archive of amateur videos that made the site popular.



The current crop of such channels is available to consumers for free and supported by advertising that appears alongside the videos.



A spokesman for YouTube said: “We have long maintained that different content requires different types of payment models. There are a lot of our content creators that think they would benefit from subscriptions, so we’re looking at that.”



YouTube has hinted in the past that it was considering offering subscription-based content. Last year YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar said there was strong demand among certain video producers, such as video game networks, to offer paid-for channels programs.



They have such a big audiences that they can start to segment their audiences into those that are willing to pay a higher amount”, Mr Kamangar said.



He also said that cable channels with small audiences could potentially be offered to consumers through YouTube on an à la carte basis.



YouTube will face competition in the paid-for video sector by existing sites such as Hulu and Netflix.

Source



How do you feel about YouTube's paid-for content idea?

 

[Sinon]

Ha ha ha ha no. If I'm going to pay for professional content, I'd rather have it on a DVD, or through something like Netflix.

 

[Flurry]

Makes ya wonder if all these recent changes they did put em in a slight bind.

 

[Evil Eye]

Well, there's no way I'm going to be paying for any of that... but it's a pretty sensible thing to do. Should net them quite a bit of money if they can get good content.

Makes ya wonder if all these recent changes they did put em in a slight bind.

Nah, it's been in the works for a few years I think.