YouTube is reportedly looking to license video content from studios and production companies, in an effort to boost its YouTube Red offerings and better compete with the likes of Hulu and Netflix.
The news comes from The Wall Street Journal, which claims that YouTube execs are talking to content producers right now. Their sources claim that the Alphabet subsidiary isn’t looking to imitate its competitors and license older content. Instead YouTube is looking to buy brand new content along with full distribution rights from third parties, which would mean you might be watching YouTube Red shows on your TV or in theaters soon.
According to the same report, the giant video service is trying to leverage the connections and business relationships developed by Google for its Play Store, which licenses movies and TV content and sells it to Android users.
It’s an interesting move for the video streaming service, but this isn’t the first time that YouTube has tried to attract users with original content. Previous efforts have only been mild successes at best, and with the competition in this field heating up, YouTube has a lot to prove.
Source: Wall Street Journal | Image via nu.nl