Primetime YouTube Channels bring streaming TV and movies to the YouTube app

YouTube will soon have streaming services. YouTube will soon be launching a new feature called Primetime Channels. This feature will allow users to stream movies and shows from over 30 services directly to YouTube. It’s a big bet that YouTube will be able to make it a reality. future cable packageIts unparalleled audience will ensure that streaming services incorporate the idea.

YouTube has signed up 35 launch partners, including major streaming services like Epix or Paramount Plus, and niche shows like Awesome courses and Magnolia Selects. (Another service, NBA League Pass, will be available soon. Each channel will operate in the same way as any other YouTube channel. Each one will have a homepage and a collection of videos. These videos will appear in the Movies & TV area of the YouTube app as well search results, recommendations and other places around the platform. You can leave comments and like or disapprove the video. The only thing that is missing is the number views.

The only thing that distinguishes movies and shows is a neon green button. It says “Watch Now” if it comes from a subscription-based service, or “Pay for to watch” if not.

It’s all very YouTube-y. As if YouTube had made a bunch movie studio executives creators. There are many reasons why this is so. Erin Teague (YouTube’s head for sports, movies, and shows, and head of Primetime Channels), says that it’s frustrating to have to switch between apps to manage your subscriptions across different apps. Many tech executives will echo this sentiment. Broadcasting is too complicated! We can fix it!YouTube’s case is stronger than others. YouTube is already used by two billion people every month. Most of them have a Google account and many have linked their credit cards. YouTube can simplify everything.

It’s also a natural fit to YouTube, where people spend their time watching trailers, summaries and all other content about their favorite movies and shows. Teague states that you will watch YouTube trailers and then leave YouTube to begin streaming. “So we were like, ‘What would happen if we just collapse this experience and make it convenient to watch all this content in one place? “

It’s also bold to make a statement about the future for entertainment in all this. Teague says the new YouTube experience doesn’t award prizes to expensive shows and movies above regular YouTube creators — it won’t rank higher in search results or promote them more aggressively in recommendations. Tej states that she views different types of content. She uses the terms “official content” or “shoulder content” in order to distinguish between shows and software. However, she says it doesn’t make sense to prioritize one over the other, except for specific users.

YouTube has been working for years to create a Primetime Channels service. YouTube knew for a long while that “official Content” was the most important gap in the platform. Therefore, it makes no sense to offer more than a thousand videos detailing every deal he made. Billions The episodes but not the crew.

The problem was Hollywood, which was largely uninterested in the idea of ​​YouTube – companies preferred to build their own destinations rather than allow another platform to own the user experience. YouTube tried to partner with the services, but then tried to create its content and created a completely new cable-replacement program for YouTube TV. They seem to always get what they want with Primetime Channels.

What has changed? The emergence of flowing wars has been a constant feature of the past two decades Hotter and more competitiveServices large and small needed to find new ways to attract customers. It is difficult to be a solitary person about user experience. When users bleed. Amazon and Apple Methods offered long agoWalmart allows you to subscribe to streaming services using your existing account VerizonYou can also join the game with others. YouTube’s offering looks very similar to other companies. Plus, YouTube is the most popular video site on the internet. Everyone comes here to watch TV. “What we find is that what the partners really want is distribution,” Teague says. “They want the content they create to work and for it to reach the people who are interested in it.”

But this requires a difficult balance. YouTube could make a good choice to include shows and movies as an additional type of content. However, it can lead to poor user experience. Nobody wants to search “South Park” and then scroll through a series clips and interviews with creators to get to the show or movies. Remember when Spotify used to show karaoke versions on top search results? YouTube could drive other creators away if it drags all its official content to top of the page. What happens when you’re done watching an episode? Do you want to watch the next one? Or creator videos about the episode that you just watched. YouTube Music is a great way to combine official content with your own content. It is also difficult to do it right.

The general infrastructure of the streaming industry also makes Primetime channels very challenging — and YouTube certainly hasn’t done the job. For example, you cannot subscribe to a new service via the app. You will need to scan the QR code and type the URL. You can’t sign in via YouTube if you are already subscribed to Primetime channel services. You will need cancel your subscription and resubscribe. YouTube TV users will be able to continue using the service. Teague claims that you can also use your YouTube login to log in to other apps on the TV Everywhere platform. It is still quite complicated.

YouTube’s perspective is also a little confusing. YouTube TV’s chief product Christian Ostlin described YouTube TV as “the package of the future.” Tell me earlier this yearHe has similar aspirations to consolidate streaming services. So why is Primetime Channels not a YouTube TV function? Tej gave me two answers when I asked her – the first was one and a half. The first is that YouTube is now global in a manner that YouTube TV is not. Additionally, YouTube sees a huge opportunity to offer Primetime channels outside of the US. YouTube TV and YouTube TV are two separate products, run by different teams. In classic Google fashion, they don’t seem to work together. Another unspoken answer is that YouTube TV is growing well but its 5 million users are not a decrease in YouTubers.

YouTube distribution is likely to be a major attraction for many streaming service providers. Paramount Plus was open about it, however Using partnerships to catch up with the giants quicklyThe YouTube number one name is, Can the company compete with the top players in the world, such as Netflixes, Disney Pluses, and HBO Maxes. Teague states that it will be difficult in the United States because everyone has a great experience.

She says that there is a real opportunity worldwide, especially in areas where it is difficult to establish streaming infrastructure. “Creating a streaming service that just works, all the time, that can stream live, on-demand content, that can recommend content in ways that are pleasing to users — turns out that’s a really tough technical challenge.” Teague and YouTube are betting that more and more companies will drop this YouTube challenge and focus on making shows and movies that people are willing to pay for. YouTube will be more important in the future of entertainment.