Report: YouTube Planning To Launch Paid Channels

YouTube is reportedly planning a move that will boost its own revenue, while simultaneously giving brands and video producers another way to make money.

According to an AdAge report this morning, YouTube is planning to launch subscription-based channels and it could happen as soon as this spring.

YouTube has reached out to a small group of channel producers and asked them to submit applications to create channels that users would have to pay to access. As of now it appears that the first paid channels will cost somewhere between $1 and $5 a month, two of these people said. In addition to episodic content, YouTube is also considering charging for content libraries and access to live events, a la pay-per-view, as well as self-help or financial advice shows.

In a statement to AdAge, Google confirmed that it’s considering paid channels: “There are a lot of our content creators that think they would benefit from subscriptions, so we’re looking at that.”

AdAge says the revenue split is likely to be similar to the 45-55 split that already exists for display ads on YouTube.