YouTube announces launch of pilot program for paid channels, with Sesame Street to offer full episodes
As predicted earlier this year, YouTube has announced in a blog that it will launch a pilot program for subscription channels, which will start at $0.99 a month, with 53 announced so far.
The channels will feature a 14 day free trial, and YouTube suggests that there will be discounted yearly rates.
After subscribing, users will be able to watch paid channels on your computer, phone, tablet and TV, and soon you’ll be able to subscribe to them from more devices.
The blog continued: “This is just the beginning. We’ll be rolling paid channels out more broadly in the coming weeks as a self-service feature for qualifying partners. And as new channels appear, we'll be making sure you can discover them, just as we've been helping you find and subscribe to all the channels you love across YouTube.
“Just as the partner program empowered creators to take their channels to the next level, we look forward to seeing how this great community of creators moves ahead with a new way to reach the fan communities that made their channels a hit. You’ll be hearing more from us, and them, as we get creator and user feedback and build out this exciting offering.”
This comes just a month and a half after YouTube hit a billion unique monthly users.