As reported by TechCrunch，YouTube announced on the 23rd，It will offer free、ad-supported tv show–The move puts it in more direct competition with the growing number of free streaming services on the market，including Tubi、Pluto TV、The Roku Channel、IMDb TV、Bad、Plex and NBCU's Peacock。
The company said，It will initially offer more than 4,000 free TV episodes to its US subscribers，Including Hell's Kitchen、Andromeda、Heartland and other shows。It plans to add as many as 100 shows a week to its free streaming collection。
YouTube already has many free、ad-supported movies，So today's launch of Free TV is more like an extension of its existing free streaming efforts，rather than brand new content from the company。
Currently，YouTube already offers over 1500 movies，The films are from Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution、Warner Bros、Paramount Pictures、Lionsgate、FilmRise and others。 E.g，This month it adds new movies，Such as "Gone in Sixty Seconds"、Runaway Bride and Legally Blonde and more。
But the wider streaming industry–including ad-supported and subscription-based–tend to lean towards TV over movies。in previous eras，The new original project is likely to be a movie，Or at least a miniseries，Now tends to be released as a playable show。Platform makers love this trend too，Because it means users are logging more time watching content on their service。Talent and capital have already caught up，TV series earns critical attention and praise，And in the past few years，This kind of attention and praise is often only given to Hollywood movies。
Simultaneously，Free TV streaming is now driving much of the growth in the broader streaming market。
According to data from Kantar，85%of US households have a video subscription，But the quarter-to-quarter growth was largely driven by free ad-supported TV and ad-supported video-on-demand services。 As of Q4 2021，18%of US households now use at least one free ad-supported TV service–This figure has more than doubled since the fourth quarter of the previous year。 Kantar says，Most new users in the last quarter were those who signed up for Peacock、IMDb TV、Users of Tubi and The Roku Channel accounts。
Simultaneously，if not free tv，YouTube also has a significant connected TV footprint in the US。 Nielsen data shows，2021December，YouTube reaches over 135 million people on connected TV in the US。 but，When users search for TV shows on YouTube，It will lead them to lease or purchase related titles–Free streaming is not an option。
With the launch of free TV services，This is changing。 YouTube said，It will now introduce new navigation and immersive banner art，Explain that users choose how they want to watch–Either through lease or purchase as before，or free with ads。 Simultaneously，YouTube said，Ad breaks will vary in frequency based on viewers and the context in which they watch the show。 Most ads are sold through the YouTube Select program。
Except for a few famous shows，Many of the free-to-view shows are older series，如 《Father Knows Best》、 《Unsolved Mysteries》、 《21 Jump Street》、《The Carol Burnett Show》、《That Girl》、 《Car 54， Where Are You》、 《The Lone Ranger》、 《Hopalong Cassidy》、 《Laugh-In》、《The Dick Van Dyke Show》等。 Many free shows only offer 1 or 2 seasons，even though the series runs longer。 This library doesn't immediately make YouTube the go-to free TV destination，But it could illustrate how the average YouTuber relieves the sometimes boredom。
YouTube also states，Many free TV shows are available in HD 1080p and 5.1 surround sound on supported devices。The shows will start today via a web browser、Available to users in the US on mobile devices and on connected TVs via the YouTube TV app。you can passYouTube.com/freeshowsView full programme listing。