By Neelabja Adkuloo
In a surprise move, YouTube announced on the 19th of September, that it’s shutting down its paid channels initiative in December, this year. Instead, the Google-owned company is expanding the use of a ‘sponsorship’ model of payment.
The bygone era of paid content
YouTube first introduced paid contents in 2013. Paid channels like Sesame Workshop, NatGeo Kids, and DHX Media, made their owners pay a monthly subscription fee for their YouTube content. However, this service never picked up much traction. By a recent count, less than 1% of content creators were making use of this method.
Foray into sponsorship
The video-sharing website is looking forward to replacing paid channels with a patronage model. This service will be made available for all YouTube Gaming creators. Under it, users can sponsor a creator for $4.99 a month. In return, users can get immunity from the slower mode, access to a sponsor-only chat, along with custom chat badges and emojis. Creators can also grant them additional perks.
Reportedly, sponsorships proved to be a boon for the creators who were part of the test phase. While there has been no news regarding when this model will be made available for all Youtube creators, this is quite a significant start.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
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