Google and YouTube have finally done what we had been hearing about for over a year – going to a subscription-based service. This is not to say that the ‘old’ YouTube will not be available to everybody…it will just have ads in among the videos as it does now. They are calling this new service YouTube Red and it will cost you $9.99 a month for unlimited YouTube without any ads. In addition, those that subscribe will be able to download videos to their mobile devices for viewing later. Sometime in 2016, Google will begin uploading content from their most popular creators that will be available only to subscribers. It will launch in the United States on October 28 and when MobileSyrup reached out to Google about its availability in Canada, they said they have no definite date, but it will be sometime in 2016.
The YouTube Red is also available on your desktop as well as your mobile devices – anywhere you can sign-in – even your big screen Smart HDTV, which has the YouTube app installed. Another nice ‘bone’ that Google is including is that your $9.99 a month will not only get you ad-free YouTube entertainment, exclusive special content in 2016, but they are throwing in Google Play Music as well. If you already have Google Play Music, you will also get YouTube Red, which is a great deal and smart on Google’s part – how many people would be willing to spend $20 a month for both services. Google will also give you a free month of YouTube Red to try it out when you first sign up. Those using iOS can also take advantage of the new service, but it will cost them $12.99 per month.
They also announced a brand new YouTube Music app that will be “available soon” to go along with their Gaming app that they recently launched. YouTube Music allows you to discover, watch and listen to music videos easier than ever by letting you choose an artist or song and then exploring the many possibilities on YouTube Red. You can subscribe to a particular artist and YouTube Red will alert you when new content is available. Early in 2016, subscribers will be able to watch YouTube Red Original Series and Movies such as A Trip to Unicorn Island, Fight of the Living Dead, Scare PewDiePie and many more. Remember, this should all be available to Canadians sometime in 2016.