( Financial Times ) -- Google is on the verge of unveiling an Ã la carte subscription service for some of YouTube 's specialist video channels , to finance a broader range of content and add a second revenue stream to the digital video market leader . The move , which has been in the works for months , could be announced as early as this week . It will apply to as many as 50 YouTube channels , people familiar with the plan say . Viewers will be able to subscribe to each channel for as little as $ 1.99 a month . The subscription service will enable channel operators to produce different content , such as TV shows and films , a person familiar with the plan said . Advertising on YouTube and rival video sites has risen fast , but remains a fraction of television budgets . Digital video advertising will jump from $ 2.93bn to $ 4.14bn in 2013 , eMarketer estimates , but will account for just 2.4 per cent of all ad spending . YouTube claims the lion 's share of that revenue . Brian Wieser at Pivotal Research estimates that YouTube 's ad revenues will rise from $ 1.3bn in 2012 to $ 2bn this year and Bernstein Research said on Friday that its revenues could exceed $ 15bn `` in the next several years '' , roughly matching CBS or Viacom . YouTube told the Financial Times that it had `` nothing to announce '' regarding channel subscriptions but was `` looking into creating a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube for our users to enjoy and provide our creators with another vehicle to generate revenue from their content , beyond the rental and ad-supported models we offer '' . YouTube 's channel partners include Howcast , World Wrestling Entertainment , The Onion and Machinima -- a network for gamers . It is unclear which channels have signed on to the new service . Cable and satellite channels , which traditionally rely on a dual revenue stream model , are eyeing YouTube 's subscription service to generate revenue from older shows and new programming , according to another person familiar with the project . YouTube has moved away from its early days as a destination for user-generated content to professionally produced video that would not look out of place on television . In the past 18 months it has spent more than $ 200m on advances to dozens of start-up channels . The new channels have helped expand YouTube 's audience to 1bn users who watch 6bn hours of video each month . Every one of Ad Age 's 100 largest brands has advertised on the site . `` We 're seeing a myriad of brands increasing their media spend , '' said Robert Kyncl , global head of content partnerships for YouTube . Time Warner , The Chernin Group , Bertelsmann , Discovery Communications and Comcast have all invested in companies that create or aggregate YouTube content . Traditional media companies are also eyeing audiences flocking to individual YouTube channels : DreamWorks Animation , the company behind the Shrek movies , this week acquired Awesomeness TV , a `` teen-focused '' YouTube network in a deal that could be worth $ 117m if earnings targets are met . Subscription YouTube channels will compete with the likes of Netflix , the streaming service with more than 30m subscribers , and Hulu , owned by Walt Disney , News Corp and Comcast , which said last week it had surpassed 4m . © The Financial Times Limited 2013 .
YouTube on way of unveiling subscription service for YouTube 's specialist video channels . Google to finance a broader range of content and provide a second revenue stream . Users will be able to subscribe to each channel for as little as $ 1.99 a month .