Hoping to entice broadcasters and Hollywood studios to bring more of their content to YouTube, the company says it's willing to offer subscriptions to users as one more way to create cash flow for programmers. Currently, the Google-owned property relies on sharing advertising revenues with content rights holders, a relationship that studios in particular see as lacking.
But YouTube, the most recognized video platform in the world with more than 125 million users a month in the U.S. alone, says it wants in on long-form content and is willing to bend.
"We're making some interesting bets on long-form content; not all content is accessible to us with the advertising model," Google's vice president of content partnerships, David Eun, told Reuters. He said YouTube would be willing to allow content owners to choose their own method of compensation.
In addition to, or in lieu of, monthly subscriptions, the company said it also would consider a pay-per-view or on-demand option.
YouTube currently uploads some 24-hours worth of video every minute, the company said, but also has some short-form content from CNN, ESPN, ABC and TNT.
For more:
- see this Reuters report
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