YouTube is planning to launch an online store for streaming video services.
With this, users will be able to subscribe to streaming services through the YouTube app.
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How would it work?
It has resumed talks with entertainment companies about participating in the platform, which it is referring to internally as a “channel store”.
Per its talks it may split subscription revenue with streaming partners.
This store has been in the works for at least 18 months and could be available as early as this fall.
The idea is for users to watch trailers of shows or movies free on YouTube and then easily pay to subscribe to the service providing that content.
Fighting for a piece of the pie
The planned launch will allow YouTube to join companies like Roku and Apple where it can compete for a portion of the already crowded streaming market.
Walmart also held talks with media companies about including streaming entertainment in its membership service, likely following the example of online retail major Amazon’s Prime service.
The concept of Tech companies handling everything but the shows and movies has been around for a while now.
Old school cable users can see this as a lot like the old cable bundle, the only difference being that it is all online now.
Coexistence
YouTube VP of product management Christian Oestlien said that YouTube can be a great partner when it comes to content either distributed in a bundle, or other methods.
“We’ve never looked at the world as these binary choices between us and partner services… we think all of us can coexist in a really healthy way”, is how he put it.
YouTube could be the latest entry after years’ long stronghold by Apple, Amazon, and a number of others.
YouTube’s assets
What works in YouTube’s favor is its enormous audience, upwards of two billion people a month, many of whom already have an account and a credit card saved on the app.
It is easy to get a good chunk of these users subscribed to the service.
In turn, users get the benefit of YouTube as the best video player and app on the market.
Some fleshed out features
It already has some aspects of the platform already built out.
With YouTube TV users can subscribe to HBO Max, Starz, Showtime and other channels and services right from within the YouTube TV interface.
One can also buy and rent movies directly on YouTube.
If YouTube manages to pull this off, it could single handedly become the most powerful app in entertainment by far.
Will it make it?
After all, it quite literally would have everything a person searching for content to consume would want.
An app with all your streaming shows and movies, everything to buy and rent, plus all the creators you love and the search engine that underpins it all.
This could be the heist of the century.
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