YouTube takes on TV by adding nearly 4,000 free shows to its catalog

Google has just announced that it has added nearly 4,000 shows to its YouTube video catalog for free. These should be financed thanks to the advertisements present between each episode.

YouTube is attacking the television market by offering free programs on its catalog with advertisements. YouTube’s video-on-demand service is not the only player in the market to offer such programssince similar services such as Tubi, Xumo, Plex or even Roku already made it possible to view streaming TV content.

Since 2018, YouTube was already streaming some movies for free with ads, including the Terminator and Rocky sagas. YouTube is said to currently host over 1,500 free movies belonging to companies such as Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate or FilmRise. However, the arrival of shows should allow the platform to ensure that its subscribers spend more time on its application, thus dealing a major blow to traditional television.

Free shows are coming to YouTube, but not for everyone

In total, nearly 4,000 episodes of around a hundred more or less old programs from different channels are joining the YouTube catalog. We can cite in particular Hell’s Kitchen with celebrity chef Gorden Ramsay, Andromeda and Heartland. Google specifies that many are available in 1080p (FHD+) with a 5.1 surround sound on supported devices.

Unfortunately for us, we shouldn’t have access to new shows from YouTube’s catalog. Indeed, Google has indicated that for now, only the United States will take advantage of this new feature. We hope that if these shows are successful across the Atlantic, YouTube will probably consider broadcasting other TV content in more countries like France. If such an offer were to arrive in France, we can fear that Salto will see its growth slow down considerably, while the platform is struggling to exceed one million subscribers.

Americans will likely be able to access the shows from their computeron smartphone appbut also on connected TVs that use the YouTube application. As a reminder, Google even wants to go further in its offensive against television by broadcasting free channels on Google TV. For this, Google is said to be in negotiations with smart TV providers like Sony and TCL to offer this service on their devices.

Source: YouTube