YouTube just added thousands of free movies and TV show episodes
posted Sunday Mar 27, 2022 by Scott Ertz
If you're a fan of free movies and TV shows, YouTube has some good news for you. The video streaming service just announced that it has added thousands of new titles to its lineup, all of which are available for free. This includes hundreds of movies and over 4,000 episodes of various TV shows.
Why would YouTube offer free movies?
While this may seem like a generous move from YouTube, the truth is that there's more to it than meets the eye. YouTube is hoping that by adding these free titles, it will entice viewers to spend more time on the site and watch more ads. In other words, YouTube is looking to make even more money by giving away free content.
This is a similar move to other streaming services that offer movies for free, such as Tubi and Pluto TV. Like YouTube, these services are hoping to attract new users with the promise of free content, and then make money off of them by running ads. It's not easy to find a middle ground between the cost of licensing the content and generating revenue off of ads, though.
This could also be a response to the growing feeling of subscription fatigue. With so many streaming services available, it's getting harder and harder to justify paying for all of them. YouTube may be hoping that by offering free movies and TV shows, it will convince viewers that its ad-supported model is the better option.
Ad-supported content, both on free and paid services, has been a growing trend in recent months. Disney+ has announced an ad-supported tier, Peacock has offered two since launch, Hulu has always had ad-supported tiers, and more services are looking at it as an option. By going fully free, YouTube could be signaling a willingness to address this subscription fatigue issue head-on.
What kinds of content are available?
The selection of movies and TV shows YouTube has to offer is fairly impressive. For movies, there are classics like Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Legally Blonde, as well as more recent hits like Beauty and the Beast and The Beyond. As for TV shows, YouTube has everything from older sitcoms like Father Knows Best to newer series like Hell's Kitchen.
Of course, the catch is that YouTube isn't exactly known for having the best selection of movies and TV shows. If you're looking for something specific, chances are you won't find it on YouTube. The service seems to be aiming more for quantity over quality here.
Still, if you're bored and looking for something to watch, YouTube's new lineup of free movies and TV shows is definitely worth checking out. And who knows? You might just find your new favorite show.
We'll be checking out the overall ratio of ads to content to see if it is worth trying out, or if the ads are just too overwhelming. Let us know what your findings are, as well, in the comments.
