YouTube Testing Free Streaming Channels

YouTube Testing Free Streaming Channels

by , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 13, 2023

YouTube Testing Free Streaming Channels | DeviceDaily.com

YouTube is testing free, ad-supported streaming channels, putting it in direct competition with Roku and Pluto TV, among others.

The company reportedly is in talks with entertainment companies about featuring shows and movies in the hub of cable-like channels. It is testing the concept with a small number of media partners.

The feature could launch more broadly later this year, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the discussions.

YouTube has recently inked a deal with the National Football League, paying $2 billion a year for rights to the Sunday Ticket franchise, as well as creating a marketplace that lets users sign up for paid streaming services.

The company is always testing new ways for viewers to find and watch content more easily — from streaming to search — after all that’s, what it does. Bu it has also has begun to increase discovery for audio as well.

YouTube Music recently began to rollout a major redesign of the Library tab. Before this update, the Library had been mostly unchanged since YouTube Music’s 2018 relaunch, according to 9to5Google.

Library, for the past several years, for the most part remained a last-played carousel and category list, but with the change YouTube Music immediately shows the user content. 

 

YouTube is testing free, ad-supported streaming channels, putting it in direct competition with Roku and Pluto TV, among others.
 

(23)