Try to imagine Amazon Prime Video Channels, but on YouTube
Over-the-top TV services have found it tough going to break the back of the traditional channel packages that cable has had to offer for the longest time. Google, for example, is charging $65 for a month of YouTube TV which offers a base package of more than 85 channels. It may have a side hustle on the way, though this could lead down a path of complicated relationships with potential channel providers.
The Wall Street Journal (via The Verge) reports from sources that Google could launch a “channel store” on YouTube as early as this fall, selling subscriptions to individual streaming services. The company has been working the concept for the past 18 months and remains in encouraging talks with multiple producers for the service. The main attraction YouTube says it has to offer? Scale — content can be promoted and exposed to more than 2 billion logged-in users per month. The channel store could operate in a similar manner to Amazon Prime Video Channels where even paying Prime members will need to pay extra for channels like Starz.
Producers are generally looking to spread their content around to as wide of an audience as possible, so that usually means long chats with distributors to nail down deals. That said, there are trade-offs: the Journal says WarnerMedia had pulled HBO Max from Amazon Prime Video Channels because its CEO at the time didn’t want Amazon to have its viewership data. It did lose out on more than 6% of its 70 million subscribers with the move. There’s word now that HBO Max could come back to Amazon with Warner Bros. Discovery now in negotiations.
Of course, we’ll have to wait to see if the content is worth the click-through and the asking price if and when YouTube launches its channel store. For now, we’ve got a constantly updated list of movies you can look out for on your favorite platforms.
