LOS ANGELES -- Roger Corman's campy B movies,
children's shows like "Sesame Street" and "Inspector Gadget," and
inspirational monologues by celebrities - these are among the
offerings on 30 channels that will soon require a paid monthly
subscription on YouTube.
Although the world's largest video site has rented and sold
movies and TV shows from major studios since late 2008, most people
watch videos on YouTube for free.
It's the first time YouTube is introducing all-you-can-watch
channels that require a monthly fee. The least expensive of the
channels will cost 99 cents a month, but the average price is about
$2.99.
In the field of paid video content online, YouTube is playing
catch-up to services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, all of which
have millions of paying customers.
But with a billion monthly visitors from around the globe, the
Google-owned video service hopes to quickly add subscribers and add
to the money it already makes from online advertising.
"This is just the beginning," said Malik Ducard, YouTube's
director of content partnerships. The site plans to roll out a way
for a broad number of partners to also launch pay channels on their
own soon.
Corman, a producer and director whose influential cult classics
like "Deathrace 2000" and "Piranha" earned him an honorary Oscar in
2009, said he's kept his 400-film library off of video streaming
sites until now.
In an interview with The Associated Press, he said he turned down
an offer from Hulu for about $5,000 to $6,000 per film several years
ago but sees promise in the YouTube offering. His channel, "Corman's
Drive-in," will cost subscribers $3.99 per month for a rotating
selection of 30 movies, refreshed with new interviews and clips from
films that are in production. It is set to launch in June.
"I believed for many years that the future of motion picture
distribution, particularly for the independents, is on the
Internet," the 87-year-old said. "I think the time is now."
YouTube will keep slightly less than half of the revenue
generated by the subscriptions.
DHX Media Ltd., a Canadian company that owns the rights to 8,500
episodes of children's TV shows, is launching three paid YouTube
channels, two for different age categories and one called "DHX
Retro" that replays old programs such as "Inspector Gadget" and
"Archie's Weird Mysteries."
It plans to launch in 10 countries and seven languages -
something that is much easier online than over traditional cable or
satellite networks, according to DHX executive chairman Michael
Hirsh.
As is the case with free videos on YouTube, the pay channels will
be available for viewing on computers, mobile devices and Internet-
connected TVs.
People who are accustomed to watching videos for free on YouTube
are in for a slightly new experience. When viewers stumble upon a
video requiring payment, they'll get a free preview up to 2 minutes
long before being asked to subscribe.
Each channel comes with a 14-day free trial, but customers have
to enter their credit card information through Google Wallet if they
haven't already.
Several channels offer discounts on the monthly fee with an
annual subscription, and some include features on top of access to
videos.
Big Think, a New York-based maker of educational videos, will
give subscribers who pay $2.99 a month access to videos of
luminaries like Malcolm Gladwell and also provide live question-and-
answer sessions of an hour or more with experts. Two new experts per
month will be brought in to develop a series of four to six videos
that are two to three minutes long. Each lesson is meant to distill
advice that viewers can act upon immediately.
"This is e-learning for the YouTube audience," Big Think
president and co-founder Peter Hopkins said. "We really had to take
into account how to pack much more in and deliver on the promise of
'smarter, faster.' "
Originally published by RYAN NAKASHIMA Associated Press.
(c) 2013 Tulsa World. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
