YouTube unveiled its new subscription service YouTube Red on Wednesday. The service will be ad-free and offer 10 original TV series for $9.99 a month.
Variety reports that the streaming service will debut on Wednesday, October 28, and will come with a one-month free trial offer. YouTube Red subscribers will also get to “save videos to watch offline on phones or tablets as well as play videos in the background.” And they will gain access to Google Play Music and the new YouTube Music service, which will offer customized playlists to users based on a song or artist they choose.
But why would you pay $10 a month, when YouTube has been free for years and years? YouTube is answering that by getting into the original programming game! YouTube Red’s 10 original series will debut in January, including something called Scare PewDieDie, which follows the popular YouTube personality PewDieDie as he faces “terrifying situations inspired by his favorite video games.” There’s also Sing It!, which satirizes reality TV singing competitions. So far, these series sound exceedingly silly, but then again, so are most of YouTube’s viral videos.
At $9.99, YouTube Red is the same price as Netflix’s standard streaming package. The price goes up to $12.99, unfortunately, if you sign up through Apple iOS, to account for extra costs that come with offering YouTube Red through Apple platforms (thanks, Apple).