Premium video subscription service Vessel has reportedly rolled out a closed beta version of its service on Wednesday.
What’s unique about Vessel is that videos posted to Vessel won’t be available anywhere else for 72 hours. This means that for $2.99 a month, Vessel subscribers will get access to videos from some of their favourite YouTube creators and other online video sites that will not appear anywhere else online besides the site for at least 72 hours.
The video subscription service is said to debut with videos from a plethora of YouTube stars, including Tanya Burr Brittani, Louise Taylor, and Connor Franta. Categories include everything from music, food and travel, beauty, science, gaming, sports, comedy, ideas and pop culture. Those unwilling to pay can watch ad-supported versions of those videos when they are released to the general Web, and on other platforms.
Vessel is offering 70 percent of all advertising revenue and 60 percent of subscription revenue to content creators, above the 55 percent cut of ad revenue they get from YouTube.
Founded by ex-Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, Vessel is backed by $75m of funding from venture capital firms Benchmark Capital and Greylock Partners, as well as Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos’ personal investment firm.
Initially, Vessel will be available on iOS devices and on the web on a one-month free trial. The company plans to expand to Android devices in the near future.
