Google has been trying to make a play as a serious streaming competitor along the lines of Netflix and Amazon for a while now. Though its YouTube platform is built on user-created content, with YouTube Premium, the company hopes that more typical films and TV series can help make the service one of the biggest streaming companies out there. And its latest initiative is something we’ve yet to see with other major platforms — free, ad-supported feature films.
According to a new report from AdAge, the streaming stie has taken the leap into free, ad-supported films. And the pilot program features about 100 films, including completely different offerings, “The Terminator” and “Legally Blonde.” Viewers interested in checking out these two films on YouTube will have the option of watching them for free, as long as they are fine with commercial interruptions.
READ MORE: Jordan Peele’s Anthology Series ‘Weird City’ Finds A Home At YouTube Premium
Director of product management at YouTube, Rohit Dhawan says, “We saw this opportunity based on user demand, beyond just offering paid movies. Can we do ad-supported movies, free to the user? It also presents a nice opportunity for advertisers.”
There’re no details about how the revenue is shared between YouTube and the studio partners, but it’s reported that the streaming service is hoping the new initiative takes off, opening the site to different types of advertising. The idea is that eventually advertisers could pay to sponsor specific films, give away free views, and exclusive screenings.
Joining ‘Terminator’ and “Legally Blonde” in the pilot program are films like “Zookeeper,” “Agent Cody Banks” and “Rocky.” Hey, they’re not all winners, what can we say? But we’re talking free(ish) films.
READ MORE: ‘The Terminator’ Almost Had A Completely Different, Much Happier Ending
Creating this new revenue stream further makes YouTube more and more like a traditional TV network. The site currently boasts a slew of exclusive shows, as well as the billions of hours of user-created content. And considering YouTube Premium is still a fairly niche offering, the company makes most of its revenue off of advertising, a la network TV. This is in stark contrast to the subscription revenue that keeps Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video afloat.
We’ll have to see if this new offering catches on with film fans, or if YouTube will have to find another way to differentiate itself from the ever-growing streaming pack.