YouTube gives up paying, original movies and TV will be free

A few days ago, some foreign media reported that YouTube officially issued an email notification. After September 24, original film and television programs broadcast to video members in the past will be broadcast for free, but as a price, consumers need to accept inserted video advertisements. . In addition, the original content released before September 24 will still only be available to paying users, in addition, the director’s cut version and extra clips are only available to paying users but not to free users.

It is well known that after the great success of the original film and television video + paid membership business model created by Netflix (NFLX.US), YouTube under Google (GOOG.US) also imitated Netflix’s launch of a video membership model, but this The plan seems to have failed to this day.

Another point is that in the global online video market, YouTube and Netflix have huge differences in positioning. YouTube mainly focuses on the original videos of netizens. Although they are not well-produced, they are very rich in content. A large number of video authors have also obtained advertising shares through YouTube. But it was also because of advertising. Last year YouTube had a boycott by advertisers. The reason was that advertisers discovered that their advertisements appeared in some extremist and online violent videos, which damaged their image and caused YouTube to reduce its brand reputation.

In addition, YouTube video members charge US$12 per month (US$18 for family members and US$7 for student discount members). In addition to original film and television content, video members can also enjoy YouTube’s paid music services (music members are priced separately 10 USD). In addition, other features of YouTube membership, such as removing ads, offline playback, and YouTube Music Premium, remain unchanged. YouTube's membership service is $11.99 per month.

Recently, Sensor Tower, a foreign media App market research company, issued an announcement saying: "In the second quarter of 2019, YouTube attracted US$138 million in consumer spending in the second quarter, ranking first in image and video applications. By region, YouTube revenue Approximately 70% of the products are from the United States, Japan accounted for 7%, and the United Kingdom accounted for 4%. Occupying the top of the list has become the world's "most profitable" picture and video sharing software. YouTube does not intend to immediately cancel its video membership service. The site said that members can still enjoy some privileges or benefits. Video members do not need to watch commercials, and when new TV series are launched, members can enjoy a whole season of episodes at a time. In addition, video members can download content to local devices (such as smart phones) to watch offline.

In the future, YouTube still plans to provide some exclusive content to video members, such as director's cut version of film and television drama, or unlisted clips, scenes, etc.