After a decade as a free service, YouTube is set to unveil a subscription based service that will give users ad-free access to video content and its music streaming service in a $10, two-for-one bundle set to launch by the end of next month.
According to Engadget and Re/code, the Google-owned media provider is sending an email to content providers telling them that they need to agree to new terms by October 22 or risk having their content be “no longer be available for public display or monetization” in the US.
In an email sent to content providers, YouTube said that it wanted “to ensure that fans who choose to pay for an ads-free experience can watch all the same videos that are available on the ads-supported experience.”
“If you haven’t signed by that date, your videos will no longer be available for public display or monetization in the United States. That outcome would be a loss for YouTube, a loss for the thriving presence you’ve built on the platform, and above all, a loss for your fans,” they wrote. “We believe these new terms will greatly strengthen our partnership for the future.”
Surprised by decision to bundle services
The October 22 deadline to agree to the new terms does not necessarily indicate that the ad-free subscription service will launch shortly thereafter, Engadget noted. Re/code added that YouTube has “never publicly committed to a timeline,” but previously told content providers it was hoping for a mid-summer launch. The launch could potentially slip to 2016.
YouTube, which initially hinted at a subscription service late last year, planned to charge $10 a month for just its music service, which soft-launched as YouTube Music Key in the fall of 2014, the media outlets indicate. The video subscription service was to be a separate offering, but plans have apparently changed since then, based on reports surfacing over the weekend.
Re/code noted that it was not certain how YouTube planned to parlay a profit out of the bundled service, given the cut due to the music labels and other copyright holders. Factor in the difficulty the service had in securing deals for its ad-free model earlier this year, the website added, and “it’s hard to imagine how YouTube will make money at that pricing.”
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