YouTube has been the de facto home of video content on the internet for 15 years. Now, that monopoly is growing.The Google-owned video site announced Tuesday that it would start rolling out Primetime Channels, a feature that turns YouTube into a hub for subscription streaming services. An “early version” launched in the U.S. along with the announcement. YouTube says you can go to the Movies & TV hub on the site to find 30 or so services you can subscribe to, though, at the time of writing, that wasn’t working for me. images-1.fill_.size_563x750.v1667314802 To start, YouTube isn’t including the real heavy hitters like Netflix and HBO Max. The biggest name on the list right now is probably Paramount+, with AMC+, Showtime, Starz, and Shudder rounding out some of the other notable names. YouTube also said NBA League Pass (which you can use to watch any out-of-market NBA game) is coming soon.For clarity’s sake, this is not the same as YouTube TV. That’s a $65/mo subscription service that lets you watch live TV. It’s also not the same as the movie rentals that have been available on YouTube for years.Anyway, YouTube has promised to YouTube-ify these channels, even going so far as to add Primetime Channels recommendations to your personal algorithm. One of the big selling points here is that you can watch a movie trailer on YouTube like you normally would, and then just watch the movie on the same site. How novel. Eagle-eyed folks will recognize that this is very similar to Amazon’s Channels ecosystem, which serves the same purpose and also includes Paramount+, Showtime, and Starz. However, YouTube has the minor advantage of being a free video hub, unlike Prime Video. Still, the two features are very similar.Regardless, this could be a convenient way to keep all your videos in one place. That was the original mission of YouTube, so it just makes sense.
