Who says you can't get à la carte TV service?

Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video

May 10, 2013

1 Min Read
YouTube Fires Up Subscription TV

In a salvo against traditional pay-TV providers, YouTube Inc. has launched a pilot program that gives its content partners the ability to offer subscription video channels for as little as US$0.99 per month. Its initial group of 63 partners includes HDNet, the UFC, and National Geographic Kids. In a blog post Thursday, Google's YouTube also highlights a Jim Henson Family TV channel that will go live with full episodes of Sesame Street. From its early days as a free, user-generated content site, YouTube has gradually evolved into an ad-supported Web portal with a growing volume of select premium video content. The company has had a content partner program in place since 2007, and has invested millions in developing professional content as a way to drive advertising revenue. (See YouTube Kills OTT Video Deals.)All new subscription channels on YouTube will be available with a 14-day free trial. Programmers will then be able to charge consumers either a monthly rate, or a discounted annual fee. The Jim Henson Family TV channel, for example, is currently priced at $2.99 per month, or $24.99 per year. Once consumers subscribe on their PCs, they will be able to access the channels on a variety of other video-enabled devices, including tablets, smartphones and connected TVs. So YouTube is clearly going the multi-screen video route with its premium content. YouTube notes on its blog that this week's subscription TV launch is "just the beginning. We'll be rolling paid channels out more broadly in the coming weeks as a self-service feature for qualifying partners." — Mari Silbey, Special to Light Reading Cable

About the Author(s)

Mari Silbey

Senior Editor, Cable/Video

Mari Silbey is a senior editor covering broadband infrastructure, video delivery, smart cities and all things cable. Previously, she worked independently for nearly a decade, contributing to trade publications, authoring custom research reports and consulting for a variety of corporate and association clients. Among her storied (and sometimes dubious) achievements, Mari launched the corporate blog for Motorola's Home division way back in 2007, ran a content development program for Limelight Networks and did her best to entertain the video nerd masses as a long-time columnist for the media blog Zatz Not Funny. She is based in Washington, D.C.

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