There have been rumours circulating about YouTube implementing an option to watch videos on the site without ads popping up for a while. Well, Google has finally confirmed that the feature will indeed be implemented.
In an email sent by Google to active YouTube channel operators the company confirmed that it will be launching a YouTube subscription service for users that don’t want to see any advertisements on the site.
There is no word about how much the ad-free service is going to cost. However, it is unlikely that it will cost more than $5 (£3.37) a month.
Are consumers willing to pay for an ad-free YouTube subscription service?
The tech giant said:
“We’re excited to build on this momentum by taking another big step in favor of choice: offering fans an ads-free version of YouTube for a monthly fee. By creating a new paid offering, we’ll generate a new source of revenue that will supplement your fast growing advertising revenue.”
What about those who make money on YouTube?
Google said that 55% of subscription revenues will given to Partner Program members depending on the videos that users watch.
The company said:
“YouTube will pay you 55% of the total net revenues recognized by YouTube from subscription fees that are attributable to the monthly views or watchtime of your Content as a percentage of the monthly views or watchtime of all or a subset of participating content in the relevant subscription offering (as determined by YouTube).
“If your Content is included in and viewed by a user in multiple subscription offerings, YouTube will pay you based on the subscription offering with the highest amount of net revenues recognized by YouTube, as calculated by YouTube.”
Paying a premium to watch content without ads
It is a model that works. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services make money because people are willing to pay a monthly subscription to watch content without ads.
However, YouTube is not Netflix. The big question is whether people will be willing to pay for, as Android Police puts it, “(mostly) amateur content” without ads.
