YouTube to allow users to subscribe to other premium streaming services via "channel store"

You can already watch clips and teasers of your favorite premium television shows on YouTube, but the company wants more than that. It wants to introduce a “channel store” to help you subscribe to other streaming services using its main app.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Google-owned platform could launch the channel store “as early as this fall.” The list of streaming services and companies is not unveiled, but WSJ said that YouTube “has renewed talks with entertainment companies about participating in the platform.”

You can already subscribe to other premium networks such as HBO, Showtime, and Starz on YouTube TV, so there is a big chance you can see these services in the anticipated channel store. Nonetheless, in order to make this project incredibly appealing, YouTube should acquire more services than those mentioned.

And while the channel store will only be focused on the US market, it seems YouTube is convincing other companies to join the project by highlighting how wide its audience reach is, which is true. In case YouTube’s channel store becomes a reality, endorsing the premium networks to users won’t be much of a problem for YouTube. The platform has more than 2.6 billion monthly active users, with around 247 million YouTube viewers in the US. With this, YouTube can get direct access to millions of US customers without much effort, not to mention that some of them are already using their credit cards for YouTube Premium or YouTube Music. Even more, almost all devices already have the app pre-installed, and YouTube’s video player is deemed the best in the market, so it could mean big convenience for the target audience of the channel store.

Apparently, YouTube will be receiving some cuts from acquiring new subscribers for the premium services. But aside from that, the push of the channel store could also mean another thing: the company has finally given up its dreams for YouTube Originals. We can’t blame the company for that, as investing in creating original content can be challenging and even expensive. But resorting to a channel store won’t be that simple. Companies would have to weigh whether the presence of YouTube’s channel store would benefit them in the long run or not. YouTube, on the other hand, has to make an effort to convince them in order to highlight what the project has to offer. Well, we’ll see how effective YouTube’s charm is from the list of premium channels it’ll put in its store… if it would really launch this fall.