Video hosting YouTube presents a new paid function – now you can subscribe to more than 30 streaming services such as SHOWTIME®, Paramount+, STARZ, AMC+, and more (image 1). So, you can get a subscription and watch the content directly through the YouTube website or application. So far this is a beta version, and it is accessible only to users from the US.
YouTube started its work in 2005, and at this moment it has more than 2 billion active users all around the world. With such many users, YouTube is trying to expand and occupy new niches in the market. In 2015, the streaming service YouTube Music was introduced as part of the YouTube Premium subscription. In 2017, YouTube TV was released, which currently includes more than 100 TV channels. On YouTube Movies, you can buy or rent movies and series.
Now YouTube is trying to combine on its platform as many streaming services as possible. Subscriptions will be made on the platform itself, so then YouTube will take some commission. All content will also be placed within the platform, which will help to focus more audience on one platform (image 2). Streaming services, in turn, will be able to attract new audiences through advertising and an individual selection of content for YouTube users.
However, it is unlikely that in the future YouTube will be able to bring together more big streaming services because the larger audience has streaming services, the less interested it is in such integration because they have the resources to promote its platform and not pay anyone a percentage of the profits. Moreover, competitors in this field are already such giants as Apple (Apple TV) and Amazon (Amazon Prime Video), so the content market will have to fight with them.
For an ordinary user, this is not an opportunity to save money, as it is necessary to subscribe to each service separately. So far there is no combined subscription to YouTube Premium. However, given that currently, YouTube combines user-generated content, music, podcasts, live streaming, movies, TV, streaming services, and many other types of content, this platform is becoming more and more convenient for users, as it can combine many types of content interesting to the user, as well as on the basis of statistics to select individual offers.
However, in the long run, such integration could lead to small companies locking in audiences and platforms of big IT companies such as YouTube, Amazon, and so on, and consequently, large platforms will have the ability to censor and influence the content of dependent channels.
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I think this is not bad that youtube is trying to attract new users to spend money on their new subscription. They are trying to come up with something extraordinary that would make people take cash out of their pockets almost without thinking. I think it makes sense for the customers to acquire such a subscription that is combining so many services in just one. Nonetheless, it has to go on a reasonable price, because the public might be satisfied with just one service so why overpay for something they won’t use. If it will have little price then it is a boom, otherwise, just marketing and feature that has little to no audience. Though I have to admit that the point that large corporations might gain massive leverage over what is shown on individual channels in long run is concerning. It would mean that corporations like youtube or amazon would get an excessive influence over people’s minds, hopefully, it will not happen. Governments are already having this influence so they would not like to give up this position. It could potentially lead to competition between corporations and governments purposes of both of which would be money acquisition which is no good.