“Wake-up Moment” as YouTube drops Paywall for shows

YouTube is abandoning its plan to lure more paying subscribers and stepping back from the Netflix-led ware on streaming. Google-owned platform is reverting back its original programming free to watch on its website.

YouTube is focusing on its ad-supported model, rather than chasing content providers such as Amazon and Netflix as Apple and Disney are doing with the launch of their own services.

All future television shows will be free to watch with adverts, YouTube said yesterday. Ads brought in £12.32bn ($15bn) in revenue for the company last year. Cobra Kai, a Karate Kid based kid films spearheaded by Harvard University educated Susanne Daniels, who joined YouTube in 2015, as global head of original content, was behind its paywall, as this was the most successful original series. Although the first season was moved in front of the paywall yesterday the season two will launch free of charge in September.

YouTube Premium subscription service costs $12 a month but making original television programmes has proved expensive and rather difficult in the midst of fierce competition as both Warner Media, Apple and Disney poured billions of dollars in new show to aid streaming services.  

YouTube’s original TV shows will be free to watch, but its existing library will stay behind a paywall because of contracts the video platform had already struck with producers.