Google has has announced its paid, ad-free YouTube video service, YouTube Red. The $9.99/month subscription based video service ($12.99/month on Apple’s iOS) will not carry ads and will launch on October 28. In addition to the ad-free viewing, YouTube Red will also have premium features, and it will showcase its own produced original content expected in January 2016. In addition to watching videos ad-free, the $9.99 service also enables users to save videos for offline viewing.
What’s more is that YouTube is forcing their top content creators to sign its revenue share deal for YouTube Red or else they will have their videos hidden from public view on both the ad-supported and ad-free platforms. Even though turning existing fans into paid subscribers will offer content creators more revenue, forcing them to do so makes YouTube in the eyes of all, a big bully. Google says its goal is to offer consistency, but that’s still no excuse for why it couldn’t just flag videos of those who didn’t sign the deal, instead of having to go for the sign-or-disappear strategy, something you’d expect to see in an 80s Mafia movie.
YouTube Red is set to launch with a one-month free trial offer in the U.S initially with additional markets to roll out in 2016.
YouTube also launched YouTube Music, a dedicated music standalone app, which follows the path of YouTube Gaming and YouTube Kids. Google didn’t announce a specific date for YouTube Music, but said it will be available “soon” in the US, with a plan to expand to more territories in 2016. The mobile app will also feature offline playback and background music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL9RetC0ook
Official announcement can be found here.
