YouTube
YouTube has officially kicked off its new strategy of making its original series and specials free with ads by dropping the critically-acclaimed and fan-favourite first season of Cobra Kai in front of the paywall for a limited time with season 2 premiering on 11th September.
Previously, only the first two episodes of season 1 and the first episode of season 2 were available to sample in front of the paywall. As of now, fans without a YouTube Premium subscription can binge-watch the entire first season of “Cobra Kai.” On Wednesday, 11th September, season 2 will premiere in front of the paywall for a limited time with one episode dropping each week.
Cobra Kai is an international smash with the first episode of season 1 boasting nearly 55 million views and first episode of season 2 besting the season 1 premiere by 136%, making it the fastest YouTube Original to hit 20 million views in just 6 days. Production on season 3 will begin shortly. The series, produced by Sony Pictures Television, is written and executive produced by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg.
As part of the new strategy, for the first time, YouTube’s audience of 2 billion logged-in monthly users will have the opportunity to enjoy new YouTube original series and specials released after 24th September 2019 for free with ads. YouTube’s subscription service, YouTube Premium, will continue to offer ad-free access to all YouTube Originals with all episodes available to them at once to binge. Additionally, YouTube Premium subscribers will have exclusive access to director’s cuts and bonus content of YouTube Originals when available. The news follows record growth for YouTube Originals, with total views of the full slate growing more than 40% compared to last year.
As part of the kickoff, YouTube today announced the greenlight and premiere date for The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash, a new slate of five original European series, including Virtually History, a special that takes a personal look at the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall through the eyes of those with family members connected to the moment in history, and season 2 premiere dates for Liza on Demand (September 25) and Impulse (October 16) along with free windows to catch up on each series’ first season.
This is great news for everyone, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Watch episode one of the superb Cobra Kai below.
