HALIFAX – Canadian children’s entertainment company DHX Media is among a select group of content providers that are taking part in YouTube’s paid channel pilot program launched Thursday.
DHX Media, which produces well-known children’s programs such as Caillou, Inspector Gadget and Yo Gabba Gabba, has launched three dedicated paid family entertainment channels for Youtube – DHX Kids, DHX Junior and DHX Retro – that will be available by subscription for $2.99 US a month. Youtube is currently offering a 14-day free trial of all the new paid channels.
DHX’s new paid YouTube channels will be available in 10 countries and in multiples languages, including English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
“There is an insatiable appetite for kid's content in the digital universe across the globe and DHX Media is positioned with our extensive library of evergreen favorites to satisfy that demand," said DHX Media CEO Michael Donovan in a release.
“Partnering with YouTube on a revenue-sharing basis for these new digital channels is an efficient way to provide children and parents with great entertainment content, when and where they want it.”
While Google-owned YouTube has more than one million channels that generate revenue, most of its 1 billion viewers watch videos for free. Today’s launch of 53 new dedicated paid channels marks the first time YouTube is offering unlimited viewing of channels for a monthly fee. Subscription fees start at $0.99 per motnh. More paid channels will be available in the coming weeks.
Corus Entertainment is also offering two dedicated dedicated paid channels, with Treehouse Direct (which is not currently available in Canada) and Official Franklin, featuring classic episodes of the series produced by Corus-owned Nelvana Limited.
Vancouver-based OUTtv, which features programming for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender audiences, is also involved in the paid YouTube channel rollout as a content provider for a new paid channel called GayDirect from U.S.-based Wolfe Video.
