YouTube has had ads on its videos for years now and it never really bothered me or anyone I've spoken to about it. You watch maybe a few seconds of an ad and you hit skip or, if it's a longer one where you don't have a choice, you hit mute and wait for it to end while I read or listen to whatever else you were reading or listening to. Simple! Except now YouTube is talking about a subscription service where you wouldn't see ads anymore, according to The Verge.
YouTube's forthcoming paid subscription offering is rapidly taking shape, and is expected to become available within the next few months, sources familiar with the matter tell The Verge. The company told creators of popular channels today that the offering, which does not yet have a name, is coming soon. It will offer ad-free videos as well as the ability to store videos offline on their mobile devices, for a price expected to be around $10 a month. It will also let creators put their videos behind a paywall so that only subscribers to the premium version can view them, sources said. (Bloombergpublished a letter sent to creators today.)
The offering may also include lower-priced subscriptions for specific categories, such as music and children's programming. (YouTube Music Key, which serves as a model for the all-access subscription, has been in invite-only beta since November. At the time, Google said Music Key would cost $7.99 a month when it comes out of beta.)
According to whoever The Verge is citing as "sources," channel owners who draw a lot of views will make more money but will also be required to subscribe themselves to the site's service, lest they want all of their videos set to private. Kind of strong arming the big players, don't you think YouTube? At the same time, some people's livelihoods are made on the website, so they'll essentially be forced to do it.
Personally, I'd just stick with the free version. I don't use it enough to care all that much in the first place and ads don't bug me. So whatever! For additional information, check out the letter sent to one YouTube channel owner obtained by The Verge.
