In a blog post, YouTube announced that it’s launching a pilot program that will allow some of its partners to charge subscription fees for channels starting at $1 per month.
Pay-to-view YouTube channels have been rumored in some form or another for a while, and payments themselves certainly aren’t new to Google’s video service. You’ve been able to pay for video rentals and season subscriptions since last year.
https://gizmodo.com/rumor-youtube-to-launch-pay-for-channel-subscriptions-493084876
The pilot program’s early partners include the UFC and Sesame Street. Each of the channels will come with a 14-day free trial, and in some cases there will be discounted pricing for yearly subscription. According to the post, paid channels will roll out as a “self-service” feature for many of YouTube’s partners.
For now, it looks like the paid channels already on board are looking at offering you premium access to rerun content a la Hulu, but if these subscriptions turn out to be popular,, you could totally see them start to offer exclusive content to subscribers. [YouTube]
