YouTube Considers Charging for Films and TV Shows

In a move to attract more premium content and to pick up a few extra quid along the way, YouTube has been floating the idea of introducing a new paid subscription model.

Paying users may soon be able to watch TV shows and movies with no advertising getting in the way of a particularly dramatic moment.

Channel 4 and Five have recently signed long-form content deals with YouTube, which is looking to undergo a rebranding of its image to a service providing quality online long-form content. Videos on YouTube currently have a 10 minute limit.

While 10 minutes is more than long enough for footage of babies on roller-skates, it doesn't quite pack in an episode of CSI.

Google bought the video sharing website back in 2005, and has been searching for ways to make the service profitable.

Vice-president of content partnerships at Google, David Eun, said that Google has been in talks with broadcasters with regards to different business models.

"We’re making some interesting bets on long-form content; not all content is accessible to us with the advertising model," he said.

"The biggest opportunity today is advertising and we’ve just begun to scratch the surface."

The move comes as rumours spread of US-based Hulu coming to the UK. Currently Hulu shows full-length programmes including the Daily Show and Family Guy.

Google has also been in discussion with film studios about the possibility of charging viewers for watching films on the site, in a video-rentals-2.0 kind of way. A number of studios already have similar agreements with Amazon and Apple's iTunes, but nothing has been agreed so far with Google.

Another subscription model that Google has been considering is a variation on the monthly subscription fees that cable TV providers charge.

Would you pay to watch the latest Twilight movie on YouTube? Leave us a comment and let us know!