Report: YouTube Could Soon Sell Access to Other Streaming Services

YouTube is reportedly working on a new “channel store” that will allow users to purchase access to other streaming video services. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is reportedly discussing revenue-sharing agreements with streaming partners, and the new channel store could launch on YouTube later this fall.

“The new marketplace would allow consumers to choose streaming services a la carte through the main YouTube app, the report reads. The Wall Street Journal also drew a comparison with how YouTube TV, Google’s US-only streaming television service offers various add-on networks including HBO Max and Showtime.

Other streaming platforms such as Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video already let their users subscribe to other “channels,” offering the convenience of accessing content from different streaming platforms through a single app. However, some companies still prefer to keep a direct relationship with their customers. Last year, HBO left Amazon Prime and the 5 million customers it acquired via Amazon’s channel service to give its standalone apps priority.

“YouTube has pitched the scale and diversity of its global audience as a reason why streaming services should join the effort, the people close to the discussions said. (…) The pitch is that the new YouTube channel store would offer great marketing for streaming services because consumers could watch trailers of shows or movies free on YouTube and then easily pay to subscribe to the service,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

With its two billion monthly active users, Google believes that its upcoming channel service on YouTube could just be too big to avoid. This may be true at a time when streaming video services may struggle to find new subscribers, though these companies may think twice about sharing subscription revenue with YouTube and losing access to some valuable user data along the way.