YouTube has been producing some excellent exclusive content over the past few years, but it’s all hidden behind a premium paywall.
For those who are interested in YouTube’s premium content, but have avoided paying the $14.99 monthly subscription to access it, you’re in luck: All users will soon be able to stream ad-supported versions of YouTube’s premium shows for free — but you’ll need to be vigilant if you want to watch in time.
Instead of just migrating all premium content to an ad-supported model altogether, YouTube will be offering each series for free for a limited time, rotating them in and out of availability every so often. All YouTube users will be able to watch this content for free, though it will include the aforementioned ad breaks.
The first of the announced free watching opportunities will be for Cobra Kai season one, which is YouTube’s sequel series to the Karate Kid films. From August 29 through September 11 (possibly a day later due to Australia being a bit ahead), all YouTube users will be able to stream the entire first season for free.
After that two week period, season one will return behind the YouTube Premium paywall and season two will be streamable for free, though only one episode will be added per week. So mark your calendars, folks.
Don’t panic if the limited watch windows don’t work for you — these are only the first of such free watch opportunities YouTube will be offering for its premium content, and though no further series or dates have been announced, the company says it will be continually putting new content into rotation.
You can keep up with any such announcements by subscribing to the YouTube Originals channel, and clicking the bell icon to get alerts.
If you can’t wait until late winter to catch up with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, and/or don’t want to sit through ads, you can always opt for a YouTube Premium subscription, which also nabs you a few other perks aside from access to YouTube’s exclusive streaming content.
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