Pursuits
YouTube Schedules Original Shows, Movies for New Paid Service
- Online stars PewDiePie, Lilly Singh feature in new videos
- Test of young-viewer willingness to pay for Web entertainment
Lilly Singh.
Photographer: Christopher Polk/FOX via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Google’s YouTube will release the first batch of shows from a new original programming drive on Feb. 10, offering three movies and an adventure series designed to lure customers to its $9.99-a-month subscription service.
The programs, which YouTube funded, include “Scare PewDiePie,” a series with the Swedish gaming sensation Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg and “A Trip to Unicorn Island,” a tour documentary featuring online star Lilly Singh, the company said in a blog post. All of the programs will be available exclusively in the U.S. to subscribers of YouTube Red, the paid version of the video site, and will be available for purchase outside the U.S.