YouTube, so long the home for short form content, is in active talks with studios for rights to the latest TV series movies.
In a move that will be instantly seen as shot across the bows of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, YouTube plans to use the recently launched YouTube Red to enter the premium TV marketplace.
Already a $9.99 subscription to YouTube Red buys subscribers access to gaming and music. Videos developed through its content investment program is also a part of the Red package, such as Scare PewDiePie, from the creator and executive producers of The Walking Dead and comedy I Am Tobuscus.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the discussions are being led by Susanne Daniels and Kelly Merryman. Daniels was previously an executive a Viacom, where she was in charge of programming for MTV, while Merryman is a former Netflix staffer.
However, unlike Netflix and Amazon, the WSJs sources suggest that YouTube is looking for new content, rather than the library packages that began the two establish streaming services.
It should be noted that YouTube Red is currently only available in the United States.