For Generation X, The Karate Kid is a pop culture touchstone. Now, more than 30 years on, YouTube wants to bring a new generation into the dojo.
Thirteen years after its creation, the wildly popular video-sharing platform is rolling out its first major original content series, “Cobra Kai”—a revival of the 1980s saga with a twist.
With the first 10-episode series going live online tomorrow, Google-owned YouTube is also hoping to draw new customers to its USD10-a-month streaming service, YouTube Red, which was launched in 2015.
YouTube Red is now available in five countries—the US, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea.”—but YouTube says it will reach dozens more by year’s end.
The portal—which now has 1.5 billion users—is hoping its forays into original content will help change the company’s economic model, which until now has been largely based on ads and homegrown viral video stars.