What does YouTube’s new subscription service mean for Sports Broadcasters?

In a move that is set to change the face of one of the biggest video content providers on the internet, YouTube has announced details of the service almost every consumer has been waiting for, YouTube Red.

Set to be released across the US on October 28 and worldwide at a later, unspecified date, YouTube Red is another attempt by the Google-owned company to monetise its content well beyond its current advertising revenue structure.

The new platform is set to offer a far more streamlined service like the removal of time-wasting advertisements, the ability to download content and watch it while offline and the much-anticipated feature of being able to switch apps while content continually plays in the background.

But while the service is likely to interest those tired of paying inflated prices for services like music streaming, the launch will signal a change in how sports broadcasters share their content online, especially in the minefield of broadcasting rights holders.

ESPN appears to be the first casualty of the grey area between the development of YouTube Red and right holders after the sports broadcasting giant didn’t wait until the launch of the new platform and pulled down oodles of video content on 11 of its 13 YouTube channels.

And despite ESPN’s parent company Disney signing an agreement with YouTube Red, the sports broadcasting network has asserted that it’s content cannot be streamed on YouTube Red because of other contracts with distribution partners.

According to a YouTube spokesperson, ESPN’s rights and legal issues preclude being part of YouTube Red ad launch. This means that since ESPN can’t legally have some of its content on subscription services in the US, it can’t be on the new platform which has led to the network taking down its own videos from the ad-supported version of YouTube in the US (TechCrunch).

While it’s not a good sign that YouTube has lost a global sports broadcaster well before their new platform launches, it highlights a very interesting area that networks will have to deal with once YouTube Red goes live. And with live sport commanding such huge interest from sport networks across the globe, the limitations of sharing footage will just get stricter and stricter.

It’s clear that UK sports networks like BT and Sky Sports anticipated the release of such a platform from YouTube (though both networks have always been very protective over the type of content uploaded) for a long time as they have only uploaded behind the scenes footage. And by avoiding uploading raw match footage, they completely bypass the issue of having it’s distribution partners cry foul over providing free footage that they would have indeed paid for.

While we’re unsure just how YouTube Red will affect other sports broadcasters, ESPN offers a glimpse of how the new service may breach commercial agreements made by its customers. So don’t be too surprised if YouTube Red claims a few more scalps once it goes live worldwide.

About author

Matt Tewhatu
Matt Tewhatu 155 posts

Matt is the editor of Digital Sport and Chief of Snack Media's rugby division and has a journalistic background both here in UK, Australia and in his native New Zealand. Follow him on Twitter @mtewhatu

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