YouTube's next upgrade: a content store for streaming services

The company will probably launch this fall a new streaming store that will allow users to purchase series, movies, and other content from the best broadcast networks and content providers in the world. The goal is to compete with Amazon and Apple's content stores

A new report by the Wall Street Journal reveals that YouTube plans to soon launch a new store for streaming services, in which users will be able to purchase content such as series and movies from the creators of the best content providers around the world. The store will probably be launched this fall according to people close to the matter.

According to the report, YouTube's new content store has been in development for over a year and a half. YouTube's main goal with the new store is of course to compete with the content stores of other giants, including Amazon, which allows its users to purchase streaming content as part of the Prime Video service, and Apple, which allows its users to purchase streaming content as part of the Apple TV service. It is worth noting that YouTube has already thought about the idea of ​​a content store in the past, and already in 2020 reports about the subject began to appear on the network.

The war for content and the hearts of consumers has of course never really stopped, and as time goes by more and more companies and content providers want to take part in it, although not all contenders aim to provide dedicated content stores similar to the expected course of YouTube the shopping chain Walmart, for example, plans to soon launch a subscription A new customer in which subscribers will be provided with a purchase benefit for a Netflix subscription, and the communication network Verizon has also begun to provide access to a wide variety of streaming services as part of its new Plus Play subscription service.

The phenomenon of benefits also exists in Israel for example, the "six months free" Disney+ benefit for Yes customers (which has been reduced to three free months in the meantime) came into our lives, alongside other local content providers that offer as part of the connection to their service access and subscriptions to some of the world's most popular streaming services.

As mentioned, YouTube has not yet offered a solution in the style of a content store, and until now the only external content service it provided was YouTube TV, which provided users with access to various cable channels alongside the ability to register for streaming services such as HBO Max at a total monthly cost of $65 (a service that is only available throughout the United States).

The desire of the content providers to bundle as many services as possible in their field is also understandable: many users tend to zigzag between services and cancel subscriptions on a regular basis, and therefore consolidating all these services under one umbrella controlled by a fixed provider can save a lot of headaches and significantly reduce the phenomenon of disconnections even if it means that each platform will receive less money for each subscription.

In the end, if YouTube does launch a content store soon, the competition will of course only increase which usually brings good news for us, the consumers. Along with it is difficult to say exactly what the store will offer at the beginning of its journey, and of course if it will be available for use in Israel.