Type of site Subscription service | Industry Internet | |
Founded November 2014 (2014-11) Headquarters 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California, U.S.
United Kingdom Area served United States
Mexico
Australia
New Zealand
South Korea
India Parent Google (through YouTube) | ||
YouTube Red is a paid streaming subscription service exclusively for YouTube in the United States, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and South Korea. It provides advertising-free streaming of all videos hosted by YouTube, offline and background playback of videos on mobile devices, access to advertising-free music streaming through Google Play Music, and access to "YouTube Red Original" series and films.
Contents
The service was originally launched in November 2014 as Music Key, offering only ad-free streaming of music and music videos from participating labels on YouTube and Google Play Music. The service was then revised and relaunched as YouTube Red on October 28, 2015, expanding its scope to offer ad-free access to all YouTube videos, as opposed to just music.
Besides ad-free streaming, YouTube Red has also participated with major networks and certain YouTube celebrities to offer "YouTube Red Originals", movies and shows exclusive only to Red members. Access to this content is included with a YouTube Red subscription, but individual episodes and movies can be purchased through YouTube or Google Play Movies & TV in certain countries where subscriptions are not yet available.
History
The service was first unveiled in November 2014 as Music Key, serving as a collaboration between YouTube and Google Play Music, and meant to succeed the former's own subscription service. Music Key offered ad-free playback of music videos from participating labels hosted on YouTube, as well as background and offline playback of music videos on mobile devices from within the YouTube app. The service also included access to Google Play Music All Access, which provides ad-free audio streaming of a library of music. Alongside Music Key, Google also introduced tighter integration between Play Music and YouTube's apps, including the sharing of music recommendations, and access to YouTube's music videos from within the Play Music app. Music Key was not YouTube's first foray into premium content, having launched film rentals in 2010, and premium, subscription-based channels in 2013.
During its invite-only beta, Music Key faced mixed reception due to the limited scope of the offering; YouTube's chief business officer Robert Kyncl explained that his daughter was confused over why videos of songs from Frozen were not "music" in the scope of the service, and thus not ad-free. These concerns and others led to a revamping of the Music Key concept to create YouTube Red; unlike Music Key, YouTube Red was designed to provide ad-free streaming to all videos, rather than just music content. This shift required YouTube to seek permission from its content creators and rights holders to allow their content to be part of the ad-free service; under the new contract terms, partners would receive a share of the total revenue from YouTube Red subscriptions, as determined by how much their content is viewed by subscribers.
YouTube also sought to compete against sites such as Hulu and Netflix by offering original content as part of the subscription service, leveraging prominent YouTube personalities in combination with professional producers. Robert Kyncl acknowledged that while many of YouTube's prominent personalities had built their followings and created content while operating on a "shoestring budget", he admitted that "in order to scale up, it takes a different kind of enterprise, a different kind of skill set; there is [a] story-telling skill set, there is showrunning, etc."
On October 21, 2015, it was announced that the service would be re-launched in a revised form as YouTube Red on October 28, 2015, expanding its scope to offer ad-free access to all YouTube videos, as opposed to just music, as well as premium content produced in collaboration with notable YouTube producers and personalities. Prominent YouTube personality PewDiePie, who is involved in one of the planned originals for the service, explained that the service was meant to mitigate profits lost due to the use of ad blocking.
On May 18, 2016, YouTube Red was launched in Australia and New Zealand, the first countries to gain access to the service outside the United States. The YouTube Music app was also launched in the territories the same day.
On August 3, 2016, YouTube Red support was added to the YouTube Kids app.
Features
A YouTube Red subscription allows users to watch videos on YouTube without advertisements across the website and its mobile apps, including the dedicated YouTube Music, YouTube Gaming, and YouTube Kids apps. Through the apps, users can also save videos to their device for offline viewing, and play them in the background. YouTube Red will also offer original, premium content exclusive to subscribers, the content will be created and published by YouTube's largest channels and creators. The service also offers ad-free music streaming through the Google Play Music All Access service.
Content
YouTube Red will offer original films and series; they will be produced in collaboration between professional studios and existing YouTube personalities.
Licensing terms
In May 2014, prior to the official unveiling of the Music Key service, the independent music trade organization Worldwide Independent Network alleged that YouTube was using non-negotiable contracts with independent labels that were "undervalued" in comparison to other streaming services, and stated that YouTube threatened to block a label's videos from public access if they did not agree to the new terms. In a statement to the Financial Times in June 2014, Robert Kyncl confirmed that these measures were "to ensure that all content on the platform is governed by its new contractual terms." Stating that 90% of labels had reached deals, he went on to say that "while we wish that we had [a] 100% success rate, we understand that is not likely an achievable goal and therefore it is our responsibility to our users and the industry to launch the enhanced music experience." The Financial Times later reported that YouTube had reached an aggregate deal with Merlin Network—a trade group representing over 20,000 independent labels, for their inclusion in the service. However, YouTube itself has not confirmed the deal.
Following the unveiling of YouTube Red, it was stated that these same contractual requirements would now apply to all YouTube Partner Program members; partners who do not accept the new terms and revenue sharing agreements related to the YouTube Red service will have their videos blocked entirely in regions where YouTube Red is available. The YouTube channels of ESPN were a notable party affected by the change; a representative of ESPN's parent, The Walt Disney Company, stated that conflicts with third-party rightsholders in regards to sports footage contained in ESPN's YouTube videos prevented them from being offered under the new terms. A limited number of older videos remain on ESPN's main channel.
Similarly, a large amount of content licensed by Japanese and Korean record labels became unavailable in the United States with the message "It is not available in your country." It was believed that the ability to download videos for offline viewing in YouTube Red was a subject of hesitation for Japanese media companies. However, access has since been restored for content from Korean record labels such as Woollim Entertainment and Japanese record labels such as Up-Front Works, while content by certain Japanese record labels such as Pony Canyon and Nippon Columbia remain blocked. (YouTube Red does not have an effect on preexisting region blocks set by the video uploader, such as the catalog of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. These videos would display the message "The uploader has not made this video available in your country.")