Do you want to watch “Terminator” for free? Now you can. YouTube has added the cult 80s film – and some 100 other ad-supported films – to its platform.
According to a report from AdAge, since October, YouTube has filled its movie section with around 100 ad-supported Hollywood movies that are available to watch for free. The films include 80s and 90s classics like “Rocky,” “The Terminator,” “Legally Blonde,” and many others.
Until now, YouTube only allowed people to buy movies and TV shows just like one can do on Apple’s iTunes or Amazon Video. The free-to-watch films are supported by ads that YouTube serves on them, but according to a recent TechCrunch report, the company is also open to other kinds of deals with advertisers, like “sponsorships or exclusive screenings.”
The addition of free-to-watch movies is not a new thing. Roku added a free movie collection – Roku Channel – last year. As per TechCrunch’s report, YouTube’s advantage “is its sizable user base of 1.9 billion monthly active users and its ability to target ads using data from Google.”
Other players are starting out in this area as well. For example, Walmart is offering free movies through the Vudu service, and Tubi has its own free-streaming service with ad-supported content. According to reports, Amazon may also be working on a similar concept.
For YouTube, the addition of free movies to its platform presents quite an opportunity, as close to 20% of its content is watched on smart TVs. According to YouTube TV sets are its fastest-growing medium! Of course, YouTube is already capitalising on the trend, allowing advertisers the ability to target users on smart TVs.
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