The first YouTube Red original shows are now live, meaning those in the U.S. have immediate access to four new premiums shows as part of their $10 monthly subscription.
First unveiled as Music Key back in 2014, the subscription service first focused on music and music videos on YouTube and Google Play Music. It was afterwards relaunched as YouTube Red, offering ad-free access to all content on YouTube, as well as access to premium and original content.
YouTube has been touting its first YouTube Red originals since last October, and the previous week the Google-owned video streaming giant teased the upcoming flicks with a handful of trailers. The shows are now live in their entirety, and include: A Trip to Unicorn Island, Lazer Team, Scare PewDiePie, and Dance Camp. Another six shows are scheduled to launch this year, though even more may be announced.
Original content has emerged as a key differentiator in the video-streaming realm, with the likes of Amazon and Netflix increasingly investing in unique programming not available anywhere else.
YouTube has flirted with original content in the past, namely through its $200 million Original Channel Initiative way back in 2012, though it didn’t really come to much. However, it recently hired a top content acquisition executive from Netflix and revealed it plans to invest more in YouTube’s top creators, which is what we’re seeing now.