YouTube makes its original content free for all: report

If you do not want to pay for YouTube Originals, do not start now. According to reports from Hollywood Reporter and Variety, YouTube is looking to modify its original content strategy by making its free programming for everyone "from next year".

Currently, the only way to watch YouTube Originals as Cobra Kai, a spin-off of Karate Kid, and Step Up: high water, a derivative of this dance movie with Channing Tatum, is through its YouTube Premium subscription service. But that also means that you will have to shell out $ 12 a month, even if you get the added benefits of an ad-free and offline viewing.

So far, YouTube's line of videos has not generated much buzz or praise, especially compared to content from competitors like Netflix and Amazon. (Have you even heard of flayed? What is even Champaign ILL? Did you even know that Demi Lovato had a documentary on YouTube?) This is at least in part because YouTube's chests for scripted content are not exactly overflowing. The Hollywood Reporter writes that the budget of YouTube Originals is in "hundreds of millions", while Netflix and Amazon have "several billion" to offer a higher price, likely to win prizes.

"As 2019 approaches, we will begin to ensure that all of our Originals YouTube ads are ad-supported to meet the growing demand for a more global fan base," said a spokesman. spokesperson for YouTube in Variety. "This next phase of our original strategy will expand the audience of our original YouTube creators and provide advertisers with incredible content that will reach the YouTube generation," said the spokesperson. This statement seems to suggest that YouTube is considering relying more on celebrity-produced content and its typical creator-based videos, instead of expensive scripted shows.

To be clear, YouTube does not necessarily fear the original content, it simply plans to place ads in its originals instead of locking them all behind a monthly paying wall. The company has not disclosed the number of people who pay for YouTube Premium, YouTube TV or its latest service, YouTube Music Premium, but it seems to have understood the message. Although we are not trying to pull out our wallet to watch Cobra Kai, YouTube could save us some extra advertising money by offering the same content for free.