So far, YouTube has made its original shows and specials available only to subscribers of YouTube Premium, which currently costs CAD $11.99 per month in Canada. However, a report by Variety is claiming that the company will be making all of its original series, including the first two seasons of ‘Cobra Kai’, free-to-watch this fall.
According to YouTube, its originals amassed over 2.5 billion views across 50 shows last year. The source notes that for two weeks, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 11, YouTube will make season 1 of ‘Cobra Kai’ available for free. Then on Sept. 11, the second season of ‘Cobra Kai’ will be made available globally for free with new episodes releasing every week.
YouTube will announce additional free ad-supported premiere dates for other programming at a later date, including supernatural drama ‘Impulse’ and comedy ‘Liza On Demand’:
“For today’s viewers, primetime is personal and our content resonates so strongly due to the diversity and richness of our unmatched library and platform capabilities,” YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl said at the Brandcast event for ad execs Thursday in New York. “While every other media company is building a paywall, we are headed in the opposite direction.”
YouTube has also confirmed that ‘Liza’ on ‘Demand and Impulse’ have both been renewed for second seasons and are slated to premiere this fall, initially on YouTube Premium.
