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The largest video sharing platform on the planet YouTube will reward premium users with exclusive video content from its top-ranked stars. Though the subscription service is not yet available, the site tries to lure new customers to its premium ad-free service.
YouTube pledged to unveil the new type of exclusive video content Wednesday in an industry event held in Los Angeles. According to people familiar with the matter, the site has been prepping for the big event since last year. In September 2014, YouTube announced that it would invest millions of dollars in “new content from some of our top creators.”
But at that time, the video sharing site didn’t mention that only users who pay for its premium services would have access to the content. The move was announced under the guise of an attempt to make the site more like TV, having programming, channels, and all.
But rumors now have it that the website would use at least a fraction of the new content to gain some extra revenue while promoting the exclusive content as a bonus for premium users. Premium users will also have access to ad-free videos for a monthly fee.
Nevertheless, YouTube doesn’t plan to turn every user on the planet into a premium subscriber. Most video content will remain free-of-charge, and videos and their creators will continue to make money from the embedded ads. But subscribing for the paid version will remove the pesky ads and bring some bonuses such as the exclusive content.
On the other hand, YouTube urged all creators and content providers to take part in the paid service as well. The website declined to reveal an official date for the roll out of the new programming. Sources within the company said that not all exclusive videos were ready to be launched so we should expect the new feature to be available early next year.
Last month, several reports showed that the website would launch its premium service by the end of October. But that may also not happen until 2016. YouTube couldn’t be reached for comment.
Yet, the site is not at its first attempt to issue exclusive content.
Four years ago, the company pumped more than $100 million in artists such as Jay Z and Ashton Kutcher to make videos that can only be watched by the site’s users. Nevertheless, the effort didn’t pay off and YouTube ditched the project.
But now the video sharing service will focus on self-made stars on the site, rather than putting a risky bet on stars in the music and film industries.
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