YouTube hints at pay channels

Internet giant YouTube is poised to announce a series of pay channels, an industry source has revealed.

The content will be in addition to the millions of videos viewers watch for free on the site. It is not clear if the paid videos will come with advertising.

YouTube said it was looking into creating a “subscription platform” that provides its partners with a way to generate revenue beyond video rentals and placing ads in and around content. It said, however, that it had “nothing to announce at this time”.

Executives hinted at pay channels at a preview event in March ahead of a meeting with advertisers.

Such a model could help video producers to make money from niche audiences. That is different from how YouTube works now, where the most popular videos, such as PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ make the most money from advertising.

One example given by executives was of video lessons by a computer science teacher.

“For people who create great value but for only a narrow interest group, I think that the potential for pay channels unlocks opportunities for creating revenue streams,” said Lucas Watson, YouTube’s vice president of sales and marketing.

Introducing pay channels would also accustom fans of YouTube to paying for content, something the site is not known for, although it has sold and rented movies and TV shows since 2008.

Google bought YouTube for $1.76bn in 2006 when the site had an estimated 50m users. Today, the site boasts more than 1bn visitors a month.