YouTube's paid channel subscriptions could launch this week

YouTube’s subscription based model has been a much talked about feature since the past couple of months. It looks like work has sped up on subscription

Nishtha Kanal|May 07, 2013, 11:49:36 IST

YouTube’s subscription based model has been a much talked about feature since the past couple of months. It looks like work has sped up on subscription channels, with reports emerging that these channels could be launched as early as this week.

According to a Financial Times report, this move will aim to help channels finance a wider range of content. Television shows, movies and more will be some of the content put within these channels. The service could host as many as 50 video channels and allow subscriptions to single channels for an affordable $1.99 a month.

YouTube was non-committal about this matter. “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," a spokesperson said. It's all about the money!

Channel subscriptions could cost you as low as $1.99 per month

Rumours about the subscription based model of Youtube have been doing the rounds since February. AdAge had revealed back then that YouTube was considering launching channels that would cost anywhere between $1 to $5 a month to show videos. Google’s video hosting platform was even contemplating to give these channels the option to add advertisements to the paid videos.

More from News Analysis

The VP of the video sharing website, Robert Kyncl too added fuel to the fire in March when he emphasised on the importance of subscription-based channels in order to help content creators. More interestingly, an update to the YouTube for Android app revealed a couple of lines of code that contained information about impending paid-channel services.

YouTube has fast turned into a go-to destination for all kinds of videos and music since it was launched. Currently the video sharing site displays advertisements before playing out videos as a source of generating revenue. The pay-per-channel model could well be YouTube’s trump card as chances are, that viewers will want to bypass advertisements and view exclusive content on YouTube and pay for it.

Over to YouTube now to announce the paid channel service.

By Nishtha Kanal

Intrigued by all things social, Nishtha will invariably tweet about you. When not tweeting or writing about the next viral video, you will hear her proclaiming her love to Metallica, James Hetfield, Opeth, Akerfeldt and all bands that go 'growl'. She also obsesses about ACP Pradyuman and South Park and you will always find her moving around with a book. Her focus is on all the happening stuff in the tech domain, and she won't hesitate to take a shot at some of the oddball devices that make their way to our labs.