YouTube sends notice to content creators about upcoming ad-free subscription service

We’ve heard for quite some time now that YouTube wanted to explore an ad-free subscription service. The concept is simple: you pay money, you don’t get annoying ads at the beginning, end or sometimes middle of a video.

Google has been hesitant come out and confirm anything, but it looks like they’ve finally let the cat out of the bag. Several partnered YouTubers have reported receiving emails from the company informing them of a forthcoming subscription service that will allow their viewers to pay good coin to dodge those annoying ads that play when you watch a video.

The email was scarce on any details about the service such as cost, but Google did note that partners would be able to get in on the new revenue stream (which was the whole reason for them sending this notice — it will create significant changes to the company’s standing terms of service policies).

Google is already providing a similar option in the same ballpark called the YouTube Music Key. It’s a per month service that lets users access music videos ad-free, as well as cache them for offline viewing should an internet connection fail to be available. Extending a similar service for the entirety of the video content on YouTube would be a big deal for those who absolutely loathe having to view ads (even if most of them can be skipped after 5 seconds).

The timing of the announcement might indicate that Google is getting ready to pilot the service this year, though without any hard details your guess is just as good as ours. We imagine any formal announcements will be saved for Google IO so stay tuned!

[via Bloomberg]

Help wanted: Samsung is looking for designers to fill Galaxy Theme Store with new content

Samsung’s Theme Store is probably one of the better things that was introduced in the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. The ability to completely change up the look of your device’s user interface — app icons, wallpapers, settings, menus, etc. — was a breath of fresh air and something Android users have been asking for ages now. The only problem: there aren’t all that many themes to choose from at present.

But Samsung is looking to change that. Instead of allowing just any ‘ol Galaxy users to submit their own theme into the store, Samsung is looking for qualified designers looking to create themes for their Galaxy Theme Store via a new landing page. Samsung asks all potential candidates submit a portfolio of their work, along with a brief introduction, to theme.ptn@samsung.com.

This is in stark contrast to the way HTC runs their theme store on the One M9, which essentially allows any user to submit their own theme for others to download. Samsung’s method is better for quality control and should keep the Theme Store filled with only the highest caliber themes. Let’s hope they’ll update the Theme Store with categories and some kind of search function in the near future as well.

So, if you’re an Android themer looking to possibly make a little extra side money (paid themes aren’t available yet, but should be coming soon), drop Samsung an email.

[Samsung Galaxy Themes]

Google Play’s upcoming Family section makes finding kid-friendly content easier than ever

We’ve had more than a few clues that Google was fixin’ to announce a new kid-friendly section of the Google Play Store. They’ve definitely been focusing on family oriented apps with the recent launch of YouTube kids and their acquisition of Launchpad Toys, a studio responsible for popular apps for kids on iOS.

The biggest clue came last week when we discovered Google’s “Designed for Families” program, a special program for developers that allows them to submit their apps for additional review so that they’ll be labeled as family-friendly in the Play Store.

According to Google, more than 1/3 of Android users in the US are parents with a kids under the age of 12. It’s because of this, Google finally took the wraps off their latest project aimed at families, a new family home section coming soon to the Google Play Store.

The new page offers a handful of tools parents can use to help discover family-friendly content for their kids. First up is the “Family star,” Google’s little green star icon that highlights family-friendly apps, games, movies, and books in the Play Store. The family home section also allows parents to search for content based on their age group, showing only filtered family-friendly results.

Because generally kids like looking for content based on their favorite characters or shows, they can now browser for content based on characters like Dora the Explorer, or My Little Pony. Apps and games features in family home (which undergo a manual review process) all feature objective 3rd party content ratings (like ESRB ratings) and are labeled when they’re ad-supported.

Google says that with a new set of parental controls stronger password protection for in-app purchases, Android is more fantastic than ever for families looking to keep a watchful eye over their kids digital playtime.

Showtime content is coming to Hulu in July for an extra $9 per month

Showtime isn’t coming out with their own standalone digital-only subscription like their friends at HBO, but they will partner with an existing content distributor to do it. Showtime and Hulu have announced that folks will be able to access Showtime’s vast range of TV shows and movies for an added per month on top of a Hulu Plus subscription of .

Showtime says the service will launch in time for July 12th’s premieres of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex. You’ll even get access to premium boxing events that air on Showtime’s Championship Boxing.

Premium cable providers are starting to take heed to the message Kevin Spacey laid out a couple of years ago: give the people what they want, how they want it and at a reasonable price, and they’ll be more than happy to pay for it. Let’s hope more and more companies begin to follow suit in the months and years to come.

[via Hulu]