YouTube to launch subscription service this year, may cost $10 per month - report

YouTube is working on an ad-free, monthly-based subscription model that will likely launch this year.

A paid, monthly subscription for YouTube is all but a reality. The Google-owned streaming service sent emails to a few of the top channel owners telling them about a plan to introduce an ad-free model later in the year.

The new model does not yet have a name, and on top of removing ads, will give users the ability to save videos to their mobile devices.

Sources tell The Verge that the offering will cost around $10 per month. Furthermore, YouTube channels will have the ability to paywall any of their videos, allowing only subscribers to watch them.

YouTube will maintain its 45% revenue cut from all advertising revenue, but it's also giving partners a slice of the subscription pie. The plan is to share 55% of the total subscription money with them, though the amount for each partner will depend on the time viewers spent watching videos on their channels.

YouTube channels have no choice but to participate in the new scheme once it's live. Otherwise their videos will be set to private, according to these sources.

YouTube later released a comment saying, "While we can't comment on ongoing discussions, giving fans more choice to enjoy the content they love and creators more opportunity to earn revenue are always amongst our top priorities."