YouTube is planning a whole new segment it their business, bringing ad-supported original programmes starting this year.

The shows will be free to view and will be separate from the YouTube Red subscription service. So it looks like YouTube is seriously looking to establish themselves amongst the ranks of Video on Demands like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

Kevin Hart and Ellen DeGeneres are some of the first ones to sign on with YouTube for original content. According to a report by the Verge, Kevin Hart said he was partnering with YouTube to be closer to his fans. “If you know me, if you follow me, you know that I embrace social media on a very high level,” Hart told the crowd in the NewsFront conference. He also mentioned that, on his most recent Europe tour, fans kept mentioning YouTube as a source of discovery. “That’s how I got my international fan base.”

Hart’s show, “Kevin Hart: What the Fit?,” will be a workout-focused program distributed through his own YouTube channel, Laugh Out Loud Network. DeGeneres, on the other hand, will use her show to give fans backstage looks at the making of her talkshow.

Other high profile signings include Katy Perry and Demi Lovato announcing new behind-the-scenes shows with YouTube, while TV and radio personality Ryan Seacrest is confirmed to be producing a music competition, “Best.Cover.Ever,” to debut on the site later this year. YouTube is also signing on its existing online talent with two shows, one from internet comedy duo Rhett & Link and another from high-speed camera effects specialists The Slow Mo Guys.

YouTube is hoping to attract premium advertising through this program.

According to Bloomberg, YouTube will invest hundreds of millions of dollars over the next year to produce more than 40 new original shows and further build out its YouTube Red service.