On Wednesday, October 28, 2015, Google has come out with a newly paid monthly subscription service, that will improve and make your viewing experience better than ever. YouTube Red is supposed to bring new features and even be more of a powerhouse than YouTube. However, you probably have a few questions of what YouTube Red may actually be. For instance, will the new media tool cost anything? What new features will it have that YouTube didn't? You may even ask, is YouTube Red and Netflix similar? Those are all very important questions, but the biggest one is simple. What actually is YouTube Red?
YouTube Red will let people use the popular video service without having to sit through ads. Yes, you heard me correctly. This new subscription will not show any advertisements from any videos, which is something the viewers will love. The New service will cost $9.99 a month. On the other hand, it will also give subscribers access to some premium content and the ability to save videos so you can watch them when offline. YouTube Music is set to make discovering, watching and listening to music easier than ever on YouTube Red. YouTube Red works with Google Play Music. In other words, when you subscribe to one, you automatically get access to the other which will hopefully make viewers very happy.
However, a big question come to mind. With everything that YouTube Red offers, it sounds a little like a comparison maybe to Netflix right? Or is it the complete opposite of Netflix. While Netflix might think their similar, YouTube doesn't think so. According to Robert Kyncl, who oversees all business functions for YouTube, he spoke to reporters about his thoughts on that topic the night that YouTube Red was released.
" Our membership service is completely different from what Netflix is. Every step that we have taken along the way is 180 completely the opposite of what Netflix is doing." (Adage)
One thing that YouTube has that Netflix doesn't and may never have, is the chance of becoming known or famous for a video that a subscriber created. While people may think their similar, their actually is a bit of a big difference. Netflix allows subscribers to watch whatever show or movie they may want to watch, while on YouTube and YouTube Red, you can not only watch a show or a movie, you can also create your own film. This thought had led Richard Raddon , whom is the founder and chief executive officer of Zefr, bring up a good point. Raddon states "It would be easier for YouTube to become Netflix, than for Netflix to become YouTube" (Adage)
While many think that YouTube Red is a good thing and brings a lot of new content to the table that regular YouTube wouldn't, their our a couple issues that are factored in. We all know that while YouTube and Netflix is free, which is an amazing thing. The more money saved the better right? However, YouTube Red isn't exactly that. It will cost $9.99 a month which has some consumers thinking.
"If YouTube had offered Red at $3.99, or even $4.99, then maybe it could have attracted a decent subscriber base from its heaviest consumers, but it seems very unlikely that the paid service as it's currently constituted will appeal to any significant amount of people." Daniel Kline goes on to continue, "Getting an ad-free experience is nice, but sitting through a 30-second spot every now and then is a much better value than shelling out $9.99 each month. Netflix is cheap enough that it's not an either-or decision, but Red is simply lacking." (Fool)
On the other hand, Netflix is only a couple dollars less than YouTube Red though right? The main reason why people still would rather have Netflix and pay the money than pay the money YouTube red is because Netflix is a service that has proven to be worth the money each month. Netflix is a service that will always have more subscribers than YouTube Red ever will.