YouTube plans to launch streaming video service to take on Netflix, Apple, others: reports

According to The Journal, With millions of consumers cutting the cord on cable and satellite TV, YouTube thinks it’s time to jump into the already crowded streaming market to capture a piece of the market. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the world’s most popular video network is planning to launch an online store for streaming video services.

The Alphabet-owned YouTube has renewed talks with entertainment companies about participating in the platform, The Journal said, citing people close to the recent discussions. YouTube hopes the new platform, which it is referring to internally as a “channel store” has been in the works for at least 18 months and could be available as early as this fall, the sources also told The Journal.

In recent months,  the ultracompetitive U.S. market is prompting streaming services like YouTube, Netflix, and others to seek new ways to find subscribers.

For example, Netflix reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter causing the stock to plunge by more than 25% during the market trading session. Then in July, the streaming giant announced a new lower-priced ad-supported subscription plan for consumers as part of its effort to stem the tide of viewers who are opting to unsubscribe from its service.

YouTube to join a list of companies like Apple, Hulu, and Roku, looking to gain a portion of the already crowded streaming market. Early this month, the New York Times also reported that Walmart was in talks with media companies about including streaming entertainment in its membership service.

Meanwhile, this is welcoming news for consumers as the stranglehold big media outlets have on Americans continues to wane. Back in the summer of 2020, we wrote a piece about a survey from Pew Research which found that about a quarter (26%) of U.S. adults now get their news from YouTube.

According to another report from CNBC, citing YouTube’s chief product officer Neal Mohan, more than 120 million people watched YouTube or YouTube TV on their TV screens in December 2020 as they were spending time at home, up from 100 million in March of last year.

The surge in viewership is also a boon for YouTube. In 2020, eMarketer projected U.S. CTV ad spend was $8.11 billion, reaching $18.3 billion by 2024.