YouTube Into TV Programming
As internet based service plans are gaining popularity, YouTube is the latest company working on a standalone television service. It is coming up with a service called ‘Unplugged’, which is offering a bundle of channels for a set price.
According to Bloomberg, it is scheduled to debut by 2017 and YouTube has already built the infrastructure required for the service. The company is also in talks with major media companies like Viacom, Fox, CBS, and NBC universal. Unfortunately, it has not been able to secure the rights required for the service yet.
Even Apple hoped to provide the same kind of service before putting its streaming TV plans on hold. YouTube is aiming to build a similar kind of service. Priced at around $35 a month, they plan to include a skinny bundle of channels from the four major U.S. networks and a few other popular channels.
It is also thinking of including smaller group channels or less watched channels, which are based on different themes such as lifestyle and comedy.
“YouTube would charge one subscription for the main bundle, and extra, smaller monthly fees for these theme-based groups,” one of the reps said.
Using this approach, YouTube could show that it is capable of bringing new viewers to many of the second-tier channels, a major concern for large media companies that depend on TV for most of their profits.
Entertainment Arena
As per resources, “if YouTube can make it work, media companies may be more open to including more-successful channels later.”
Like YouTube, even Hulu is planning to build its own television streaming service. Their plans came to the fore during the beginning of this week, which was later confirmed by Hulu CEO, Mike Hopkins.
Hulu plans to offer its customers cable style access to its channels and popular broadcast television networks, which would include a DVR cloud based feature. Though pricing has not been announced it is rumored to be somewhere around $40.
Hulu is also planning to sign deals with Fox and Disney, and the services will be ready for launch by 2017.
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