{"id":41477,"date":"2023-10-20T15:14:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/youtube-red-launches-in-australia-why-it-breaks-the-video-on-demand-mould-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:14:14","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:14:14","slug":"youtube-red-launches-in-australia-why-it-breaks-the-video-on-demand-mould-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/youtube-red-launches-in-australia-why-it-breaks-the-video-on-demand-mould-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube Red launches in Australia: Why it breaks the video-on-demand mould – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"YouTube<\/div>\n

By Marc C-Scott<\/em><\/p>\n

YouTube this week launched its paid subscription service, YouTube Red, in Australia and New Zealand. These are the first two countries to gain access to the service outside of the United States.<\/p>\n

The introduction of a new major video-on-demand (VoD) service will now challenge many media corporations that may not have seen YouTube as a threat.<\/p>\n

YouTube is offering a free trial of the service for a month, with introductory pricing of $9.99 per month and $12.99 for subscription via iOS available until June 6th.<\/p>\n

The standard pricing fees will be $11.99 per month, or $14.99 via iOS. The higher rate for iOS due to the fee charged by Apple, which Google is passing onto iOS subscribers.<\/p>\n

The sales pitch by Director of YouTube Content and Operations (Asia Pacific), Gautam Anand, stated YouTube Red is about:<\/p>\n

\n

Giving you more choice about how you watch YouTube [\u2026] Soon, we hope you\u2019ll be watching what you want, when you want, on any device you want, uninterrupted.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Why pay for YouTube?<\/h3>\n

Some may ask why they should pay for Red when YouTube is already free. It is important to note that Red does not replace YouTube, but rather adds to it. There are five key additions if you sign up for YouTube Red:<\/p>\n

1) No more ads<\/h4>\n

This includes pre-roll (before a video) and pop-up adds (banner ads over the videos). While this won\u2019t be a key selling point for people to subscribe, it is a small feature that some may appreciate in addition to the other elements.<\/p>\n

2) Offline playback<\/h4>\n

Subscribers will be able to save videos while on a WiFi connection for offline viewing.<\/p>\n

This will enable subscribers to watch saved content without requiring an internet connection. It\u2019s also a boon for those who travel, or find themselves with no or poor mobile service. It will also take a load off mobile data for those who like to watch on the run.<\/p>\n

3) Background play<\/h4>\n

This will enable you to continue to view or listen to YouTube videos while you are using other apps. This includes while the device is locked.<\/p>\n

4) Original content<\/h4>\n

Based on Netflix\u2019s success, and the fact that Netflix\u2019s previous Vice President of Content, Robert Kyncl, is now YouTube chief business officer, YouTube will also experiment in the original content space.<\/p>\n

On the list of original content is a series featuring one of YouTube biggest stars, PewDiePie, entitled Scare PewDiePie.<\/p>\n

David Alpert, president of Skybound Entertainment, producer of the series, stated that:<\/p>\n

\n

One of the things that was great was, because we did it for YouTube, we didn\u2019t have this standardised length format [\u2026] We said, \u2018Let\u2019s just make the episode great.\u2019 That part was really freeing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But Alpert also notes that YouTube\u2019s original content does differ from Netflix\u2019s, particularly due to the flexibility in the length of shows, which breaks free from old commercial television conventions.<\/p>\n