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YouTube is to launch a subscription service offering original, exclusive videos - including feature-length films starring high-profile vloggers.

Initially only available in the US, YouTube Red will cost $9.99 (£6.50) a month and have no adverts.

PewDiePie, Rooster Tooth and Lilly Singh are among the well-known names involved.

Other news relating to the service

• It's also bundled with Google Play music all access. So you get a video/music combo.
• Offline video playback
• US only for now
• They're offering a free month's trial
• Looks like an extension/replacement for Youtube music key

Source
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Personally reading about the original content sounds underwhelming imo. Reality tv is brain-dead, having youtubers doesn't make it brain-dead.

I can't see many people taking up on this apart from those really ingrained in the Google ecosystem. Particularly as youtube was built upon free user created content. The bundling with music all access makes it quite sweet. Personally I know I won't take this up, I'm happy with my Spotify/Netflix (and possible Crunchyroll) subscriptions. Youtube Red doesn't cut it for me as Play Music as a tendency to mess up audio on my phone.

Oh lulz Youtube Red sounds like Redtube lulz!

 

[Deleted member 333767]

Yay, way to go Youtube! First you offered advertising deals to channel owners to display stupid ads at the start of the video. And then you introduced advertisements in the MIDDLE of some videos AND NOW your giving channel owners the chance to make a quick buck by charging money to view their videos???

Brb, signing up for Daily Motion

 

[jDSX]

So all vids are going to need a payment in order to watch them? What kind of shite is this mate?

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Yay, way to go Youtube! First you offered advertising deals to channel owners to display stupid ads at the start of the video. And then you introduced advertisements in the MIDDLE of some videos AND NOW your giving channel owners the chance to make a quick buck by charging money to view their videos???

Brb, signing up for Daily Motion

To be fair, some people actually make a living off of their YouTube channel. If they don't get ad revenue they wouldn't be able to eat

 

[GameSystem]

To be fair, some people actually make a living off of their YouTube channel. If they don't get ad revenue they wouldn't be able to eat

They would still be able to eat. Do you know how many Americans starve to death every year? I'll give you a hint, it's practically none. With the welfare system as it is and all the ways to get free food and shelter, the only people who actually die from starvation are neglected and abused children who are locked up in homes and not allowed to eat. Other than that, the only people who die involuntarily are those with severely diminished mental capacities that don't even know how to feed themselves. You don't have to worry about vloggers physically dying.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

They would still be able to eat. Do you know how many Americans starve to death every year? I'll give you a hint, it's practically none. With the welfare system as it is and all the ways to get free food and shelter, the only people who actually die from starvation are neglected and abused children who are locked up in homes and not allowed to eat. Other than that, the only people who die involuntarily are those with severely diminished mental capacities that don't even know how to feed themselves. You don't have to worry about vloggers physically dying.

Well... Ok, I meant they wouldn't be MAKING a living

 

[B.B.Link]

Well... Ok, I meant they wouldn't be MAKING a living

They shouldn't be making a living off Youtube videos anyway. Get out and get a real job/career. If you're making money off it (which is stupid in my opinion) it should be extra money not living money.

 

[KingVamp]

They shouldn't be making a living off Youtube videos anyway. Get out and get a real job/career. If you're making money off it (which is stupid in my opinion) it should be extra money not living money.

You may not like it, but Youtube is a real job. No different than someone making a show on TV. I mean, look at Adult Swim. They put stupid stuff on their and apparently people still watch it. Just like esports are real sports.

 

[grossaffe]

You may not like it, but Youtube is a real job. No different than someone making a show on TV. I mean, look at Adult Swim. They put stupid stuff on their and apparently people still watch it. Just like esports are real sports.

Esports are not real sports. Sports require athleticism.

 

[KingVamp]

Esports are not real sports. Sports require athleticism.

Esports, just like Chess, is a sport. Things change.

 

[mgrev]

Must resist...

fuck it.

RedTube anyone?

lol

 

[grossaffe]

Esports, just like Chess, is a sport. Things change.

No, chess is not a sport. Nor is poker. Both are competitive activities, which I personally enjoy, but they are not sports.

 

[FAST6191]

The definition of sports is a fun one. The poker and chess things, at least as far as the US goes, are usually more an easier way around changing immigration law. I do not think that would make a terribly useful day to day/for around here type definition though.

Athleticism is a good one, I heard it phrased along the lines of "if I could tell someone else to do it then would it matter to the activity? If no then not a sport but possibly still a game, if yes then you could have a sport on your hands" Give or take blitz chess and those games with timings/clocks I can be a quadriplegic and still a chess master, saying do a double hand spring is not going to allow my lumbering old man body to do it with any kind of style or grace but I could get a little girl that has trained to do such things for the last 10 years to do it. "esports"... as I recall Starcraft pretty much came down to actions per minute and even if it is just my hands and elbows it is an athletic/physicality/dexterity based skill. That would mean turn based computer games without QTE/any kind of physicality/dexterity based challenges differ from real time games for this would could be fun for that immigration thing above.

 

[jDSX]

Youtube is going to be hulu now paid for service everybody is asking way too much, all added together is 100's of dollars per month. Get a grip guys and gals, it just is not worth anywhere near $10/month. You are really just a small part of a much larger picture. Worth something - yes, worth that premium, not even close, try $10 a year or perhaps $1/month.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

They shouldn't be making a living off Youtube videos anyway. Get out and get a real job/career. If you're making money off it (which is stupid in my opinion) it should be extra money not living money.

There's an interesting debate in there, because many people believe that they are there to serve their fans, meaning they have to devote much of their time to YouTube and do not have the time or resources to get another job. It's essentially the same idea as a movie or television actor

 

[driverdis]

I think this youtube red stuff will end up like for pay workshop stuff on Steam did.

 

[Deleted User]

I'd rather subscribe to RedTube You

 

[Taleweaver]

Wait...didn't those vloggers get famous in the first place because they worked on a freely available network?


And that name? Lol. I can also foresee something like the following:
Pewdiepie (to mother): hi, mom! Just letting you know that I'm broadcasting on youtube red now.
Mother (to friends): well...my son just moved his workspace. He's still on youtube, but it's called "red" now.
Friends (to neighborhood): did you hear? Pewdiepie broadcasts on this site called...what was it? Oh yeah: he's on redtube nowadays.

 

[Lightside]

Looks like the Oxford Dictionary definition for sport as simply encompassing any "entertaining activity" (i.e. "i'm doing this for sport") is the third, most dated one! :S The first two define a sport as involving athletics / any form of physical activity, so I guess eSports could have been named improperly?

-- Lightside

 

[Deboog]

So can we expect Youtube to fight ad blocking now?

 

[KingVamp]

Apparently, Youtube isn't profitable. Also, I really hope they change to a better name than YouTube Red. Even Youtube Gold would be better.

the only way I'd pay for a Youtube subscription would be if it allowed me to watch all sorts of movies for free (kinda like netflix, popcorntime etc.)
but paying to watch user/community content? really? no thanks

They have already been playing around with movies, so maybe they will go that direction. There's not enough there, especially for that price.

So can we expect Youtube to fight ad blocking now?

I doubt it. Probably lose more money creating and updating software to stop it.