If you are the parent of a millennial, you understand the impact that YouTube has had on the entertainment industry. YouTube stars that are largely unknown in the television and movie industry now come to Des Moines and draw huge crowds.
A couple of years ago, my granddaughter (then age 6) LOVED to watch YouTube videos of a woman pretending to be a mermaid. It may sound weird at first - but if you are a kid who likes - say - ninjas or princesses or mermaids - why WOULDN'T you love watching videos featuring ninjas, princesses or mermaids.
Now, YouTube is about to take another big step in becoming the main source of entertainment for the next generation.
YouTube says it plans to make all its original content available for free. The video service is shifting from subscription-based original content to an ad-supported strategy. The plan would make original YouTube shows available for free, with ads, by 2020.
Since 2015, YouTube's original content has only been available to subscribers of YouTube Premium. The new plan would make original YouTube shows available to over two-billion non-subscription users.If you want to binge watch without ads, Premium will still be available.
While I don't use YouTube for original content, I do look to it for content not available on any other platform. For example, I recently watched the mini-series "Shogun" on it.