YouTube announced today that a new feature to open the door for more than 30 streaming services is coming to the platform for a new way to watch TV and movies. Primetime Channels offers major names like Paramount+, Showtime, AMC+, and Starz to smaller streamers like The Great Courses and Magnolia Selects.
The established YouTube platform will be intact for these streaming services. You will go to a page like Paramount+ to browse the content like any other channel on the video hosting site. You can like, dislike, and comment on the available content. These selections will be on the Movies and TV section of the site. Recommendations with interviews, behind-the-scenes clips, and trailers will be suggested based on what you watch, like the normal video-focused side of the company has done.
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There are two distinguishing characteristics to separate what you subscribe to or not. If you pay for a service, then you will see a green button to watch. If you don’t pay, then you have an option to “Pay to watch.”
The move continues to make YouTube a rival to cable now that it offers various streaming services. Its TV subscription plan has already been a competitor to cable with its sports offerings, various channels, unlimited DVR space, and lower price. This move for streaming services on YouTube also goes in line with its movie offerings for years now, except this time, it is easier for users to go on YouTube and access something they have a subscription.
For the future of Primetime Channels, YouTube plans to expand its offerings of streaming services as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO are unavailable. It is working to “build new features that only YouTube can deliver.”
Primetime Channels will be available to all YouTube users.