Variety is reporting that YouTube has changed its strategy when it comes to originals, opting to now selectively window shows on the free, ad-supported side of the platform. Previously, YouTube kept all of its original content behind a paywall, with a few episodes per season available for free to increase sampling and push people to pay $11.99 per month for YouTube Premium.
The full first season of hit Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai will be available for free from August 29th until September 11th, with the second season having one episode released for free per week beginning the same day. The series, whose first episode has been viewed over 62 million times, has been renewed for a third season.
Also set to hit the ad-supported side of YouTube are supernatural drama Impulse and Liza Koshy comedy Liza on Demand, though dates for their debuts are yet to be determined.
The move to embrace the ad-supported side of itself comes as YouTube is rebranding away from scripted originals in favor of content that focuses on music, learning, and personality. In recent weeks, the streamer has stopped accepting scripted pitches while cancelling Champaign ILL, Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television, Sideswiped, Do You Want to See a Dead Body, Overthinking with Kat & June, Youth & Consequences, and Origin.
YouTube has yet to make renewal decisions on the likes of Wayne, Step Up: High Water, and Weird City, some of which might not survive thanks to the in-progress rebrand. The lone scripted series that’s been ordered but not debuted is Kirsten Dunst dark comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida, about a water park employee looking to bring down a pyramid scheme from the inside out.
