22 Oct Youtube Goes Red, Will Charge Charge $9.99/Month For Usage
Google announced yesterday that it will introduce a new service to the streaming site Youtube. Starting October 28, Google will launch Youtube Red.
Not to be confused with a porn site with a similar name (Google says it has tested the name and there was no confusion, tho..???), Youtube Red will do away with those annoying, ubiquitous ads provided you pay $9.99/month.
For users who still want to see ads, the regular youtube will still be there, waiting. But to remove the ads, you have to open your wallet.
Red users will also get to download videos for offline viewing and stream music in the background, two things you can kinda-sorta do with the right software, but now it will be open all paying customers.
For publishers, in order to be part of Youtube Red, you have to sign up. No ads means no revenue, but Google will cut them in on a share of the subscriptions and they’ll still collect from ad views on Youtube Regular. So one would think publishers will do fine.
If publishers don’t wish to be part of Red, well, good luck. Google will basically banish you from Youtube and hide your videos.
Looking ahead though, once the service gets going (Youtube will give you 1-month free to try it out), could exclusive shows and other broadcasts lure subscribers? It’s planned. And will Red then compete with Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon, Hulu, etc?
And will Google take the best of both worlds and reintroduce ads into the Red videos or on side of the screen? Google does make its money through ads which appear on just about every part of real estate they own.
So Google is or was trying to index the world, now it looks like the new plan is to get rich off videos?
No Comments