0_Apprentice
My son loves watching YouTube! I don't see what the hype is all about. Do you watch YouTube?
1_Wizard
I do! I think the hype comes from the ability of any user, anywhere, to be able to upload, view, rate, share, add to favorites, report, and comment on videos, as well as subscribe to other users, all for free! It's unlimited entertainment for free, which is very accessible.
0_Apprentice
Maybe I haven't given it enough of a chance. Does YouTube have many users?
1_Wizard
It does, evidenced by the fact that it was so successful that it enticed Google to buy the site in November of 2006 for $1.65 billion, and is now one of Google's subsidiaries. And it's only grown since then, so you can imagine how many users are on the site daily.
0_Apprentice
It has to be a lot! I didn't know they were owned by Google. Who started the site, do you know?
1_Wizard
I do! In fact, it was created by three former PayPal (sound familiar) employees: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, way back in February of 2005.
0_Apprentice
Wow! Those guys must have made a ton of money on the sale! Does YouTube offer a subscription service to eliminate the ads a viewer typically sees?
1_Wizard
Just recently, they do. Youtube Red was launched in November 2014, originally Music Key, as a way of streaming ad-free music from participating labels on Youtube/Google Play Music. But it's expanded on October 31, 2015 for ad-free access to all youtube videos, in addition to other perks.