https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL9RetC0ook
Over the past few weeks we’ve seen Southern Cross Station blanketed in YouTube ads, which contained nothing more than the logo, a picture of a YouTube star and his/her number of followers. It was for us a puzzling ad spend: isn’t YouTube pretty much ubiquitous? You might as well advertise Facebook… but now that YouTube Red has launched, the ad spend begins to look more like step one in a campaign. YouTube Red is YouTube’s subscription service: ad free, going live on Oct 28, costing $9.99 per month. The free version of YouTube will still be there, and the ad spend in YouTube from advertisers is still going strong.
YouTube has also engaged some of its most popular creators, such as PewDiePie, will create scripted series for YouTube Red, slated to roll out next year. Apparently 98% of YouTube’s creators have signed on for Red. How it compares to other services:
Netflix: $8.99
Hulu: $7.99, or $11.99 for the ad-free option
Amazon Prime: $99 per year (about $8.25 per month)
HBO Now: $14.99
Showtime: $10.99