YouTube kills paid content in its game streaming channels, opting for revenue splits among producers based on viewership. The company may extend this to its other programming channels on YouTube, which would be a significant change in the economics of creativity.
YouTube is getting rid of one of its first paid content models: The Google-owned video site announced Tuesday that it is discontinuing its paid channels initiative, effectively killing the option to sell the content of individual channels to paying subscribers. Instead, YouTube is expanding its sponsorship model, making it available to all YouTube Gaming creators and testing it with some creators within the main YouTube app.
Source: YouTube Kills Paid Channels, Launches Sponsorships Across Gaming App | Variety