YouTube Bows Out of Hollywood Arms Race With Netflix and Amazon

YouTube has canceled plans for high-end dramas and comedies, people with knowledge of the matter said, according to Bloomberg.

The Google-owned business has stopped accepting pitches for expensive scripted shows, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the decision hasn’t been announced. The axed programs include the sci-fi drama “Origin’’ and the comedy “Overthinking with Kat & June,’’ prompting their producers to seek new homes for the shows, the people said.

The retreat from direct competition with Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video service reflects the high cost in billions of dollars needed to take on those deeply entrenched players, even for a rich tech giant like Google, the people said. YouTube generated more than $15 billion in ad sales last year without a huge slate of glitzy productions and concluded its money is better invested in music and gaming.

The strategy change, first reported last November by the Hollywood Reporter, means all YouTube shows will eventually air for free. The company is still working out release strategies for the shows, the people said.

YouTube’s shift marks at least the company’s third reboot in the past decade and underscores what Hollywood executives see as the technology industry’s capricious approach to entertainment.  The originals that will still exist on YouTube will now shift from the paid service to YouTube’s free version. YouTube Red, meanwhile, has been rebranded as a paid music service.