YouTube is launching a streaming subscription hub, taking on Roku and Amazon

Article by Daniel Konstantinovic | Nov 2, 2022

The news: YouTube is launching a storefront hub called Primetime Channels, through which users can subscribe to 34 streaming services including Paramount+, Spanish-language Vix+, AMC+, and several other boutique or smaller brands.

Users have already had access to some streamers via a YouTube TV subscription, but anyone can access the Primetime Channel hub.

Major streaming brands like Netflix, Disney+, and others are conspicuously absent despite some of them being available via bundles elsewhere.

Shoving its way into CTVs: The streaming wars may have focused on a handful of major brands like Netflix, Disney, and HBO, but don’t be fooled—YouTube has a massive hold on CTV audiences and is trying to take up more territory.

For the first time ever this year, less than half of all time spent on YouTube (49.3%) will be on mobile devices. CTV is making up a larger share of viewership each year, growing from 30.5% in 2020 to 36.4% this year.
Consumers’ time spent viewing YouTube rivals the major streaming services, per our forecast: In 2022, users will spend an average of 31 minutes per day on YouTube, compared with 33 minutes for Netflix and 23 minutes for Hulu.
With Primetime Channels, YouTube is stepping on Amazon and Roku’s toes as a digital video distribution platform, without the need for a plug-in CTV device like an Amazon Fire Stick or Roku Express box.

Our take: YouTube has been inching into CTV and streaming for some time now, winning a larger share of ad dollars and expanding its non-user-generated content on offer. Its omission of major streaming rivals shows that it’s going toe-to-toe with the biggest streaming brands, but has a leg up on them thanks to its origins on other platforms.