YouTube confirms eyeing subscription 'channels'

YouTube confirmed on Wednesday that its evolution as an Internet stage for video may include subscriptions to content that creators believe people will pay to see.

"We have long maintained that different content requires different types of payment models," a YouTube spokesman told AFP.

"There are a lot of our content creators that think they would benefit from subscriptions, so we're looking at that."

Talk of the Google-owned video sharing service one day charging for content surfaced in December of 2011 when YouTube unveiled a major redesign that showcases television-style channels.

The new layout set the stage for film or television studios to create pay channels at YouTube.

"We are trying hard to marry the best of TV and the best of online," YouTube vice president of product development Shishir Mehrotra said when the re-design was introduced.

While YouTube is the most popular application on Google TV, the service is intent on being available on the full array of platforms and hardware including videogame consoles, tablets, smartphones, and Internet-linked televisions.

YouTube in the year 2010 began letting viewers pay to "rent" streaming movies or television shows.