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Tag: paid channels

  • YouTube Opens Up Paid Channels in a Big Way

    If your YouTube channel is in good standing and you have 10,000 existing subscribers, there’s a good chance that you can now charge users to view your content if that’s something you wish to try.

    YouTube has just announced an expansion to the paid channels pilot that will allow more partners to participate. Eligible partners in good standing with over 10,000 subscribers can now enable the feature on their accounts pages.

    What does this mean, exactly?

    Good standing simply means that you’ve played nice over the years. This means you have no Community Guidelines strikes, copyright strikes, and no videos that have been blocked worldwide by Content ID. Being eligible for a paid channels means that you’ve completed the following steps:

    • Your account is in good standing.
    • You meet the general criteria for YouTube partnership.
    • You have verified your account by phone.
    • You have an approved AdSense account linked to your YouTube account.
    • You own a free channel with at least 10,000 active subscribers.

    Before today, paid channels were only open to a few dozen partners.

    YouTube has also announced that they’ve added Mexico to the eligible countries list, and more countries are on the way. Currently, paid channels are only offered in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, the UK, and the US.

    If you want to try out a paid channel, YouTube will give you a 14-day free trial.

    “Just as the Partner Program empowered creators to build great channels over the last six years, we look forward to seeing how you use this additional business model to build your audience on YouTube,” says YouTube.

    YouTube first launched paid channels back in May. Recent reports indicate that they may be off to a slow start, with various partners expressing disappointment in the early returns.

    Image via YouTube

  • YouTube’s Paid Channels May Be Off to a Slow Start

    Back in May, after much speculation, YouTube finally unveiled their first-ever paid channels. Most costing a few dollars a month, the paid channels put exclusive content behind a paywall, ultimately changing an aspect of YouTube that users are quite comfortable with.

    Mainly, getting stuff for free as long as they can put up with some ads every now and then.

    And according to some of YouTube’s early partners in the venture, things haven’t really taken off as fast as they previously hoped.

    Variety quotes two high profile paid channel owners who both say that they’re a bit disappointed with the returns they’re seeing from their paid channels.

    “We had hoped to set the world on fire. We are not setting the world on fire right now,” said the National Geographic Society, who launched a paid kids channel back in May.

    “[It’s] working OK. Not amazing,” said Mark Cuban, who opened up AXS TV when the pilot program launched.

    It’s not all bad for YouTube’s paid channel initiative, however. Sesame Workshop claims to be “very happy” with the performance of their paid channels.

    “We’re in the early days of piloting paid channels. Just as the Partner Program empowered creators to take their channels to the next level, we look forward to seeing how creators bring new content to their fan communities on YouTube,” said YouTube in response.

    And YouTube is right about being in the early days. As of today, there are only 51 paid channels in the pilot program. They range from $0.99 a month to as expensive as $7.99 per month. Some channels even offer yearly subscriptions for as low as $24.99 a year or as high as $67.99 a year.

    YouTube will expand the initiative – when they’re ready. And opening up the program will vastly expand the type of content that is offered, meaning your average, everyday YouTube channel will eventually be able to but their content behind a paywall.

    “This 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. And as new channels appear, we’ll be making sure you can discover them, just as we’ve been helping you find and subscribe to all the channels you love across YouTube. Just as the partner program empowered creators to take their channels to the next level, we look forward to seeing how this great community of creators moves ahead with a new way to reach the fan communities that made their channels a hit,” said YouTube when they first launch the paid channels pilot program.

    Will a better selection tempt users to buy into the paid model? That remains to be seen. Like any subscription-based service, people are only going to pay if they deem the content worth paying for.

    Plus, when most people think YouTube, they think free videos. Sure, you have to put up with ads – but the core appeal of YouTube has always been that it was free. Free hosting, free viewing. Other subscription videos services like Hulu and Netflix, as well as traditional cable options and HBO, never had to cross over the “free” barrier – those services always cost money from the get go.

    In order for YouTubers to pony up $7.99 a month for a channel subscription – those channels are going to have to offer some high quality content. Have you subscribed to a YouTube channel yet? Are you waiting for more options? Or are you the type of person who would never, under any circumstances, pay you watch a YouTube video?

  • YouTube Paid Channels Are Here, Start At $0.99 A Month

    Earlier this week, it was rumored that YouTube would roll out the oft-rumored paid channel subscriptions this week. That rumor was right on the money.

    YouTube announced today that it’s launching a pilot program that sees a number of its partners offering exclusive content behind a monthly fee. It says the move to paid channels was made after its partners requested more ways to make money beyond ad revenue.

    As for details, every paid channel charges a small monthly fee starting at $0.99 a month. The most expensive channel comes in at $7.99 a month. One channel, Smart.TV, gives access to 7 channels under its brand for $9.99 a month. Some channels also offer yearly subscriptions with some as low as $24.99 a year or as high as $67.99 a year.

    The selection at the moment isn’t super great, but there are definitely a few standouts. For starters, film studio Asylum is offering its full movies on YouTube for $2.99 a month. My personal favorite is the DHX Retro TV channel which offers episodes of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and the infamously bad Legend of Zelda cartoon for $2.99 a month.

    YouTube notes that subscribers will be able to watch content on PCs, mobile devices and TV. They will also soon be adding the ability to subscribe via mobile devices.

    For now, paid channels are only available to specific channels that YouTube picks out. In the coming weeks, however, it will open up a submission process for qualifying channels to apply for a paid channel. If you’re a YouTube creator and are interested in paid channels, you’ll want to tell Google that you’re interested today.