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YouTube reportedly near launch of paid channel subscriptions

YouTube reportedly could launch its paid subscription service for some of its specialist video channels as early as this week.

The a la carte service, which could involve as many as 50 video channels, would allow single channel subscriptions for as little as $1.99 a month, people familiar with the plan tell The Financial Times. YouTube confirmed to CNET in February that it was developing such a service but did not indicate when it would be ready for subscribers.

A paid content platform could give the Google-owned video site another revenue stream while allowing channel operators to finance different … Read more

Helping 'Star Wars' newbies finally embrace the Force

SAN FRANCISCO--What I'm about to tell you is 100 percent true, no matter how much you will want to tell me I'm full of it: there are American adults who have never seen "Star Wars."

The 1977 George Lucas film is a timeless global phenomenon and may be one of the most embedded of all our cultural artifacts. It spawned an empire that Disney ended up buying for $4 billion, in large part because of the passion and commitment of its worldwide audience. But still some people, even those who watch other movies, and are part of mainstream society, managed to make it to 2013 without ever seeing it.

For one group of "Star Wars" newbies, though, their lifelong exclusion from one of the biggest clubs on Earth is over. … Read more

Beam app fills the Google Glass-to-YouTube upload gap

Google's Glass can shoot video with its built-in camera, but one missing piece is getting it right onto YouTube, which Google also happens to own.

Fullscreen, a Los Angeles-based company, has solved that with what it claims is the first YouTube app for Glass. The software, called Beam, lets Glass owners post their videos to YouTube, as well as automatically share them on Twitter once they're live.

In short, first-person crotch-shot videos will be uploaded to YouTube faster than ever.

That very same feature could eventually be added by Google at some point, but for now users either … Read more

How to add photo tags with Instagram's new Photos of You feature

Instagram today introduced a new photo-tagging feature called Photos of You. With it, you can tag people or brands (that is, any Instagram account) in your Instagrams.

Before you can use the new feature, you'll need to upgrade to version 3.5 of the app on your iPhone or Android device. Once you are running the latest version of Instagram, you will see an Add People line on Instagram's Share screen after you have cropped and filtered your photo.

Tapping on the Add People line opens a screen asking you to tap the photo to add people. When … Read more

YouTube to advertisers: You need us to attract a younger crowd

NEW YORK--Google on Wednesday made its pitch for advertising on YouTube, telling companies that the site is a vital way to reach the highly desired 18- to 34-year-old demographic and a way to build a base of loyal fans.

However, the company didn't announce any new major projects or partnerships. Instead, executives positioned YouTube as hip and in tune with what younger viewers desire -- something it said its online rivals and traditional cable networks lack. And it noted that the transition to online viewing has already happened.

"The future is already here," Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt … Read more

YouTubers watch more than 6B hours of videos per month

On the heels of YouTube celebrating 1 billion unique monthly visitors to the site, the company announced Wednesday that these people are watching more than 6 billion hours of videos every month.

For a little perspective, that's equal to nearly 684,000 years of viewing -- or -- an hour a month for every human on Earth.

The 6 billion hours is up 50 percent more than last year and is also up substantially from just January, when the YouTube announced users were watching 4 billion hours of videos per month.

What exactly are people watching besides ads and … Read more

YouTube goes to Washington

Google's popular video channel and its public policy group have teamed up to provide members of Congress with feature-enhanced video channels today.

Citing an increase in public interest in streaming video from their elected representatives, Google has offered to improve the YouTube channels of all 535 members of Congress for free. They will be able to share via YouTube, e-mail, and social media live-streamed and archived videos such as the first hour of the recent Rand Paul filibuster, embedded above.

Google's content partnerships head honcho Robert Kyncl and vice president of Public Policy and Government Relations Susan Molinari … Read more

MLB brings live game streaming to YouTube, but not in U.S.

Major League Baseball is about to begin live streaming America's pastime to fans on YouTube for free, but there is a catch: The arrangement will pass over fans in the U.S. and a handful of other countries where the sport is already dug in.

YouTube announced on Monday that fans in countries other than the U.S., Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan will be able to view two live games per day during the regular season on the video-sharing site. Fans in all countries will be able to view game highlights "about a day or two&… Read more

YouTube to get its funny on with Comedy Week

If you think you might need a good laugh or two come mid-May, you might want to keep YouTube in mind.

Google's Internet video subsidiary on Thursday announced the first-ever YouTube Comedy Week, scheduled for May 19 through May 25.

It will start out on the evening of the 19th with the global live-stream of an all-star comedy variety featuring a mix of stand-up, sketches, and musical performances. Then as the week unfolds, YouTube said, there will be dedicated programming that includes live performances, new episodes from popular YouTube comedy channels, and curated top 10 lists from comedy stars. … Read more