YouTube is reportedly investigating licensing TV and film content for its new streaming subscription service, Red.

Providing premium content would make YouTube's $9.99 over-the-top (OTT) video service directly competitive with the streaming services from Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), Hulu LLC , Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) Prime, Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) Watchable and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) Go90. (See Operators Blunder in Online Video Era).

They're all positioned as alternatives to the VoD services of traditional pay-TV service providers -- some competitively, some complementary. One interesting difference is that YouTube appears to have more immediate international potential.

YouTube Inc. has hired executives from Netflix and MTV, and they are looking into possible licensing arrangements, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Red's current value is built on providing YouTube content without ads, considered a boon mostly for people who line up music videos as "radio" playlists. YouTube does already host some long-form content, including a hodgepodge of films (e.g., Death Race 2000, The Flim-Flam Man, The Girl With the Pearl Earring) and TV shows (e.g., Space 1999, Married With Children), but the company has no corporate control over most of it.

— Brian Santo, Senior Editor, Components, T&M, Light Reading