YouTube Will Make You Pay to See Some of Its New Videos

YouTube, the world’s biggest video site, is readying a slate of programming that will only be available to people who join its upcoming subscription services. YouTube will announce some of that programming, which it is helping to fund, on Oct 21. Industry sources say the programming is the product of an initiative the site announced in 2014, when YouTube said it would “fund new content from some of our top creators." At the time, YouTube didn’t say that stuff it was funding would be placed behind a paywall. But industry sources say the site now intends to use at least some of the content it is bankrolling as a bonus for its premium subscription service, which will also include features like ad-free videos.

YouTube will continue to operate a free, ad-supported version of the site, and has said that all of the videos that appear on the free site will be available on its paid version -- which is why YouTube is insisting that all video makers who make money from YouTube ads need to participate in the subscription service as well.