According to Financial Times, the service will begin with 50 YouTube channels, while subscriptions to each channel to start as low as $1.99 per month.
We’ve been hearing about Google working to include paid-channel subscriptions on YouTube for quite some time. Latest reports indicate the search engine giant has inched closer towards the launch of the service, and it may happen as early as this week.
According to Financial Times, the service that has been in the works for months will help channels monetise a wider range of content, including TV shows and films, and overall evolve as a new source of revenue. The report says the service may include up to 50 YouTube channels, with subscriptions to each channel to start as low as $1.99 per month.
Mashable in its report quotes a YouTube spokesperson as saying: “We have nothing to announce at this time, but we’re looking into creating a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube for our users to enjoy and provide our creators with another vehicle to generate revenue from their content, beyond the rental and ad-supported models we offer.”
Earlier this year, AdAge had reported Google was in talks with several video producers to come up with channels that would require a fee for viewing. First producers that are supposed to come with paid channels are Machinima, Maker Studios, and Fullscreen while Google is looking for more partners.
Recently, lines of code were spotted in the new YouTube for Android app that refer to paid channel subscriptions.
Paid-channel subscriptions could be a huge boost for YouTube in terms of revenue. The site currently depends on ads to churn out its most of revenue. Moreover, the paid subscriptions will help producers and companies to tap their growing online consumers.
Source-ThinkDigit
