YouTube has quickly become a force to be reckoned with when it comes to entertainment. Once the reserve of oddball viral videos that people shared throughout the office or with friends, YouTube has become a part of our everyday lives. For a lot of young people, it’s what they “tune in” to more than your average cable channels. It’s made celebrities of the likes of PewDiePie and helped launch music careers. The online service has quickly grew to become one of Google’s main revenue streams and it’s clear that the two companies are looking ahead to what’s next, rather than just sticking to the formula that’s working right now.
Not too long ago, YouTube added the ‘Music Key‘ to its offerings, which became part of Google Play’s All Access music service, allowing subscribers to watch music videos without ads. It’s being reported that YouTube wants to build on that and offer a Subscription-based Video On Demand service similar to that of Netflix and Hulu. The Next Web is reporting that a senior exec from a YouTube content partner was approached concerning a licensing deal, allowing YouTube to stream their content as a part of subscription package. YouTube already offers users the ability to purchase and watch a film online for a one-off fee, the same goes for select TV series, but a subscription service would put YouTube – and Google – in direct competition with the likes of Netflix.
This seems like the logical next step for YouTube, but content deals will decide whether or not the service will be any good or even get off the ground in the first place. What makes Netflix so appealing is the vast quantity of quality content like series such as House of Cards and Breaking Bad. In order to get people interested, YouTube will have to make similar deals with content creators and that could prove a tougher battle than they first thought. There’s likely a market for this though, as many younger people log on to YouTube as if they would turn the TV on, and it’s this demographic they’re likely going to target. Over time, we should hear more on this, but what do you think? Is this a good move or will it turn YouTube into something it isn’t?