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| YouTube Red removes adverts from the hugely popular viral video site |
YOUTUBE has announced a $10 per month subscription plan for US viewers which removes adverts from the video service.
YouTube Red is a new video subscription service which combines ad-free videos, new original series and movies from top YouTubers, and on-demand unlimited streaming music.
The Netflix rival costs $10 per month, some £6.50 converted.
YouTube Red builds on Google's existing music streaming service by providing ad-free access to YouTube content.
It also bundles a number of pro features, such as the ability to download videos to mobile devices and have music or audio from a video playing in the background while multi-tasking and using other mobile apps.
Current subscribers to Google's music on-demand service – Google Play Music – will get full access to YouTube Red without paying any more than their existing $10 a month music subscription.
Chief business officer for YouTube, Robert Kyncl called YouTube Red "a major, major evolution of our platform."
YouTube Red targets existing fans who want to skip ads, while giving them a chance to pass along some cash to their favourite content creators, who'll share in the new revenues.
It comes as streaming services like Hulu, Pandora, Spotify and TuneIn offer ad-free as a paid option.
The plan will launch in the United States on October 28th.
Subscribers will also get access to a new app dubbed YouTube Music, which blurs the line between streaming tracks and watching music videos on YouTube.
The new YouTube Music app will allow you to toggle music videos to play audio only.
But you don't have to wait for the new music app to have Red features work across YouTube platforms, with the exception of the YouTube Kids app, starting next week. The apps, including the existing YouTube app, are free to download.
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| Red targets existing YouTube fans who want to skip ad |
The move comes amid a boom in consumer appetite for ad-free experiences.
Ad-blocking software has become popular on personal computers, and Apple's iOS 9 operating system update last month allowed ad-blocker apps to run on its mobile Safari browser for the first time.
Worldwide usage of ad blockers rose 41 percent last year to nearly 200 million people, according to PageFair, a firm that seeks to counter ad blockers.
And yet content providers are finding a way to make money from eliminating ads, too.
Internet radio giant Pandora Media made $54.6 million on subscription and other revenue in the quarter through June, mainly from its $5-a-month ad-free plan, Pandora One.
Its subscription revenue is growing faster than ad revenue itself.
Hulu launched a "No Commercials" plan in September for $4 more per month than its regular $8 subscription and TuneIn added a premium tier for $8 a month in August that throws ad-free music together with audio books and sports play-by-play coverage.
Red could help boost the ranks of Google Play Music subscribers, which stood at around 815,000 in the U.S. at the end of last December, according to royalty tracking firm Audiam.
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| Google is preparing to launch a new YouTube app for the service |
Its subscription revenue is growing faster than ad revenue itself.
Hulu launched a "No Commercials" plan in September for $4 more per month than its regular $8 subscription and TuneIn added a premium tier for $8 a month in August that throws ad-free music together with audio books and sports play-by-play coverage.
Red could help boost the ranks of Google Play Music subscribers, which stood at around 815,000 in the U.S. at the end of last December, according to royalty tracking firm Audiam.
That's far short of leader Spotify with 20 million paying subscribers globally.
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook told a technology conference this week that Apple Music has 6.5 million paying subscribers and millions more still on free trials following its launch at the end of June.
YouTube is part of Google, a division of the newly created holding company Alphabet Inc.
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