YouTube CEO Looks Toward Traditional TV For Video Service Transformation

Susan Wojcicki, chief executive of YouTube, which is now owned by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), is betting on virtual reality, live programming and a $10-a-month ad-free subscription service to make YouTube profitable, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

YouTube faces stiff competition from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) and Snapchat, along with video streaming services such as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Prime.

Competition And Inspiration

However, Wojcicki said her biggest competitor is simply old fashioned, traditional television. So now, she "wants to make its billions of viewers an audience primarily for online content," the Journal stated.

"When I look at the future of TV, I think it's going to be on demand; it's going to be mobile and cross-device; it's going to be global; and it's going to include a diverse set of content. YouTube's goal is to build that platform and be the next-generation content and TV provider," Wojcicki told the Journal.

Related Link: YouTube Is Likely To Cross $10 Billion In Sales This Year: Here's Why

"It's such a big space, and there's so much opportunity for everyone. We all need to just think about how we can deliver our core proposition better to our users, as opposed to, ‘Oh, Player X has this feature; I need to have it, too.'"

In addition, the executive is confident advertisers would embrace online video, but as with most things innovative, it will take time.

"Advertisers usually start small and test it. It doesn't make sense for them to advertise in a place where there are no users, right? I'm confident that advertisers will catch up and the ad dollars will flow to digital. It's just going to take some time," she said.

Ironically, Wojcicki too skips ads on YouTube.

"Yet, even she says about half the time she skips the ads that run before YouTube videos — the service's main moneymaker," the Journal concluded.