There is some good news for YouTube fans in store. Google in its effort to generate more advertising revenue from You Tube is all set to launch paid channel subscription of You Tube soon. By doing so Google is planning to give tough competition to other players in the market, namely Hulu, Amazon and Netflix which have streaming video services.
Media Reports
In a news clipping published in Financial Times, it has been mentioned that Google could initiate the service pretty soon and it will have up to 50 You Tube channels that will offer subscription to video content starting from $1.99 monthly.
The channels initially will be focusing on high end producers only and subsequently will be available to other publishers in the market.
Future Plans
Google seems to have planned its strategy well. In case, the subscription option catches on well, the online video industry could well be redefined. In present times, the industry subsides on advertising revenue only. The producers of web video series will be able to generate an additional source of revenue. The cable television industry too could face a challenge from the online video industry, if the experiment is successful.
You Tube authorities have meanwhile clarified that the content that will be displayed on the paid channels will be in addition to what is available for free on its normal service. However, it was not clear if any advertisements will play on any of these channels. You Tube has come up with a balanced statement not willing to share much with viewers initially as this might give its competitors a hint of what is in store.
The authorities at You Tube have pointed out that they are working on a subscription platform and its partners will be able to generate more revenue. This would be in addition to what they generate by video rentals and placement of advertisements centered around the content. Much is not being said about the number of channel or the content that would be promoted through the paid subscription option. Google wants to keep everyone guessing on what it would be promoting through these paid You Tube channels.
The paid subscription model being devised by You Tube can help online video producers make out money from niche category of audience. This would be much different from the ways, You Tube works as of now.
Innovation Indeed
As of now, the most popular videos on You Tube make money from advertising only. You Tube’s vice President of Sales and Marketing seemed to be quite excited about the whole initiative. In his words, the medium will give a platform to those players in the market who make great sense for a targeted group of niche audience. The huge potential that the pay channel market has will make it easier for them too for creation of additional revenue streams.
Additionally, the fans of You Tube will get accustomed to paying for the content, a rather new concept in online video marketing. You Tube has had some experience of undertaking a similar initiative in the past too. In 2008 it stated a program wherein, the channel rented and sold movies apart from some popular television shows.
Challenges ahead
The higher authorities at You Tube too admit that the whole mission will not be too easy to accomplish. It requires a skill set to convince people for paying for watching paid You Tube channels. Even for as little as one cent, a die hard You Tube fan will think twice. However, the authorities at You Tube are convinced that given the popularity of this online video channel, people will pay for the service. It is worth mentioning here that Google Inc. has purchased You Tube in 2006. At that time the viewership of You Tube was an estimated 50 million users worldwide. In present times, this figure has improved drastically and as of now, You Tube is visited by over 1 billion people worldwide. Google intends to tap this market and has therefore come up with this ambitious plan.
The world of online video watching is growing by the day and major media houses realizing the popularity of this medium have started connecting with their potential audience through this medium. Even movies are being released through You Tube. In such times of heightened media awareness, it is but natural for Google to take the plunge and offer paid subscription of You Tube. The world is watching with interest and You Tube fans are hoping that this experiment turns out to be a worth remembering event for them too.
About The Author: Alyssa is a writer/blogger. She loves writing, traveling and reading books. She contributes on ReputationChanger.com Reviews
YouTube Paid Channels, Coming Soon
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