YouTube Aiming to Introduce Paid Channel Subscriptions This Year

CNET reports that according to a story in today's Ad Age, YouTube is considering a new paid channel subscription this year. The report cites "multiple people familiar with the plans," and reveals that YouTube is already in discussions with a "small selection of producers about developing channels that would require a fee." The cost would be somewhere in the range of $1 and $5 a month.

The site is also looking beyond its current roster of providers such as Machinima, Maker Studios, and Fullscreen, to find new producers. It may also charge for items such as entire libraries of videos, live events, and even self-help or financial advice shows. The new channel could begin as early as next quarter.

YouTube parent Google confirmed the news of a possible paid subscription channel stating, "We have long maintained that different content requires different types of payment models. The important thing is that, regardless of the model, our creators succeed on the platform. There are a lot of our content creators that think they would benefit from subscriptions, so we're looking at that."