YouTube Kids has announced to launch an ad-free version of the service, which will now be bundled into the YouTube Red subscription program to offer parents the option to pay for an ad-free experience for their kids. The package will offer several new features, including background play, offline videos, and paid ads.
Launched last year, YouTube Kids is the child-friendly version of YouTube’s service. According to YouTube, the service was launched to make life easier for parents by offering kids only appropriate content on a tablet or smartphone. YouTube Kids is one of the top five kids apps in Android app stores and iOS,. According to Google, the service has already served up over 10 billion video views since the launch of the service. According to some media reports, YouTube Red subscriptions account for about 4 to 5 percent of the income being made by YouTube content creators. The service, however, has also faced much criticism from many consumer watchdogs in the past one year for its way of handling advertisements. The Center for Digital Democracy requested the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the app. In April, the Center and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood said the service mixes product placement-style ads into YouTube videos without revealing that the creator is looking for money. Later, it was revealed that hundreds of promotional videos advertising junk food have been found on YouTube Kids.
The fact was that some big brands including Coca-Cola, Oreo, GM, and Kellogg did not keep their promise to not serve ads to kids under 12. They had made the pledge as members of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, but later broke the pledge by using YouTube.
Some critics have accused YouTube of discriminating against lower-income users through its new paid service.
Jeff Chester, executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy said: “Google recognizes that YouTube has become very important in the lives of children who turn to YouTube for entertainment and information. And it’s out there to monetize it.”
The Google-owned company now says YouTube Kids will be bundled into YouTube Red – the paid subscription service – and parents will have the option to choose ad-free content for $10 a month. The subscribers will also be offered offline video content and music streaming facility. For example, subscribers out for a long car drive would now be able to download a few videos for their kids to watch. Moreover, it would be possible to use the service in background mode, such as playing kids tubes in the background while still using Google Maps or some other app.
“We’ve been trying to keenly listen to the community and make sure parents are in the driver’s seat,” says Malik Ducard, head of content for YouTube Kids.
According to Ducard, more parental controls will be rolled out in coming months for the YouTube Kids app to provide parents ability to include/exclude particular channels or videos.
To get started, parents will need a YouTube Red membership and download the YouTube Kids app. Sign in from the parental controls section of the app and then follow the on-screen instructions. The new integration is currently available for subscribers based in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia.
You must be logged in to post a comment.