In a move that puts in into more direct competition with the growing number of free streaming services on the market, YouTube today announced it will for the first time stream free, ad-supported TV shows. Users in the US will be able to get over 4,000 free TV episodes from shows like Hell's Kitchen. It will add up to 100 more titles each week, including both shows and movies.
Today's launch of free TV is more of an expansion of its existing free streaming efforts, rather than something entirely new for the comapny.
Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and others are some of the companies that have movies on YouTube. Gone in Sixty Seconds, Runaway Bride, and Legally Blonde are some of the new movies added this month.
The streaming industry, including both ad-supported and subscription-based, tends to be more towards TV than movies. New original projects that would have been movies, or at least mini-series, in previous eras are often now released as bingeable shows. Users are logging more hours watching content on their services as a result of this trend. The talent and money have followed, with TV series winning both the critical attention and praise that was only given to Hollywood films in the past.
The image was uploaded to the YouTube.
Free TV streaming is driving growth in the broader market.
According to data from Kantar, 85% of U.S. households have a video subscription, but quarterly growth comes from free ad-supported TV and ad-supported video on demand services. 18% of U.S. households now use at least one free ad-supported TV service, a figure that more than doubled since the fourth quarter of the prior year. Most of the new users in the final quarter were people who signed up for Peacock, IMDb TV, Tubi, and The Roku Channel accounts.
There is a significant connected TV footprint in the U.S., if not free TV. According to the data, over 135 million people watched YouTube on connected TVs in the US in December. When users searched for TV shows on the site, they were directed to either rent or purchase the titles.
The launch of the free TV service is changing that. New navigation and immersive banner art will help users choose how they want to watch, either via rental or purchase, as before, or free with ads, when available. The commercial breaks will vary by viewers and the context in which they are watching. Most of the ads are sold on the internet.
Many of the shows available for free are older ones, like Father Knows Best and Unsolved Mysteries. Even if the series ran longer, many of the free shows only offered 1 or 2 seasons.
Many of the free TV shows are available in high-def with 5.1 surround sound audio on supported devices.
Beginning today, the shows will be available to U.S. users through the web browser, on mobile devices, and on connected TV. You can watch a full list of shows on the internet.
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