YouTube has launched a trial scheme for
paid channels on its website.
Under the pilot programme, a small number
of content makers will offer the channels for
subscriptions starting at $0.99 (£0.64) a
month.
Each channel will offer a free 14-day trial
and many will have discounted annual rates.
Although the initial 53-channel line-up is
fairly niche, one expert suggested the move
might ultimately squeeze some smaller rivals
out of the market.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, said the
launch was part of an effort to enable
"content creators to earn revenue for their
creativity".
For example, the children's television
favourite, Sesame Street will offer full
episodes on its pay channel when it
launches.
Subscribers can pay using either their credit
cards or through Google's own Wallet service.
The paid channels involved in the pilot are
diverse.
They include National Geographic Kids, Acorn
- which provides episodes from several
British TV series -and Fix My Hog Premium,
which is aimed at Harley Davidson
motorcycle enthusiasts.
"This is just the beginning", YouTube said on
its blog.
"We'll be rolling paid channels out more
broadly in the coming weeks as a self-
service feature for qualifying partners.
"And as new channels appear, we'll be
making sure you can discover them."
Traditional TV turn-off?
The advent of paid channels on YouTube
means Google joins Netflix, Hulu and
Amazon in offering subscription-based
alternatives to traditional pay-TV.
"The wider picture here is that the internet
and TV worlds are colliding," Ian Maude, an
online media expert at consultants Enders
Analysis told the BBC.
"The YouTube move will make it much harder
for smaller standalone online subscription-
based platforms because Google has the
infrastructure to make it easy for content to
be hosted, delivered and billed for.
"But it was always inevitable that Google was
going to do this."
One billion viewers
Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65bn.
The service is believed to generate a small
amount of revenue from advertising, but the
vast majority of its content has been free-to-
watch.
To make itself more attractive to potential
advertisers, YouTube has gradually added
professional content, such as full-length
films and TV shows, to its vast library of
amateur videos.
YouTube says a billion people around the
world use the service every month.
"If YouTube were a country, we'd be the third
largest in the world after China and India,"
the company said in March.
Source:bbc
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