Could this be the beginning of a new era in online videos? YouTube is testing an option that would allow channels owners to monetize subscriptions.
The company has invited a small group of content producers to create a series of pay-per-view channels accessible to the public for a monthly fee between $1 and $5. The first batch could be available as early as April 2013, and should not exceed 25 channels. Revenue from subscriptions would be split 45-55.
“It's not clear which channels will be part of the first paid-subscription rollout, but it is believed that YouTube will lean on the media companies that have already shown the ability to develop large followings on the video platform, including networks like Machinima, Maker Studios and Fullscreen. YouTube is also looking outside its current roster of partners for candidates,” says Ad Age’s Jason Del Rey
YouTube may also allow creators to charge for access to video libraries and live events.
In other news
Content curation service Paper.li announced on Wednesday that Pro users could now apply their own domain names to their papers. Also, the re-design of the entire platform is complete:
"[W]e're happy to announce that the entire Paper.li site, and newsstand, is 100% responsive in design,” says Kelly Hungerford in the Paper.li Blog. “Along with the new design comes a new look and feel and a great big hero space for us to show off you, your papers and how you're using them."
On the same day, Vimeo introduced content ratings. All videos will now feature a badge informing people of the content they are about to watch, including All Audiences, Mature and Not Yet Rated.
According to the company’s blog, ratings are part of an upcoming filtering system that will allow users to enjoy videos without having to worry about mature content.
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