YouTube Unveils Ad-Free Subscription Service

SAN BRUNO: Google-owned YouTube is launching a subscription service, dubbed YouTube Red, which will offer original and exclusive videos for $9.99 per month.

The service is set to launch officially on October 28, offering videos without ads and enabling users to save content to watch offline on mobile phones or tablets. It also allows users to play videos in the background. YouTube Red membership will extend across devices and anywhere subscribers sign into YouTube, including its recently launched gaming app and a brand-new YouTube Music app the company announced today that will be available soon.

Starting early next year, YouTube Red will provide member-only access to new, original shows and movies from some of YouTube’s biggest creators. This includes Scare PewDiePie, a reality-adventure show from the creator and executive producers of The Walking Dead at Skybound Entertainment and Maker Studios; Sing It!, a scripted comedy that satirizes reality singing competitions; and Lazer Team, a feature-length action-comedy from Rooster Teeth and Fullscreen Films. Other original offerings are A Trip to Unicorn Island, a movie about the life and journey of a girl who travels the globe practicing the mantra "happiness is the only thing worth fighting for"; Untitled Joey Graceffa project, in which Graceffa brings together an ensemble of YouTubers for a murder mystery; Untitled CollegeHumor project, written by and starring the cast of CollegeHumor; and Single by 30, a romantic drama.