YouTube is working on an ad-free, monthly-based subscription model that will likely launch this year, a report claims.
A paid, monthly subscription for YouTube is all but a reality. The Google-owned streaming service sent emails to a few of the top channel owners telling them about a plan to introduce an ad-free model later in the year.
The new model does not yet have a name, and on top of removing ads, will give users the ability to save videos to their mobile devices.
Sources tell The Verge that the offering will cost around $10 per month. Furthermore, YouTube channels will have the ability to paywall any of their videos, allowing only subscribers to watch them.
YouTube will maintain its 45% revenue cut from all advertising revenue, but it’s also giving partners a slice of the subscription pie. The plan is to share 55% of the total subscription money with them, though the amount for each partner will depend on the time viewers spent watching videos on their channels.