Imagine paying YouTube for your next monthly cable bill.

Well, that statement may be true in the not too distant future. According to a recent article from Mashable, YouTube is currently exploring paid subscriptions for premium content. In the article, it was stated “…Youtube could be a venue for cable networks with small audiences that want to offer their content on an a la carte bases.”

Wait; back up. Yes, you read that right – a la carte.

By doing what cable companies once thought as the unthinkable, this new model of media consumption could warm the hearts of all couch surfers alike. Image paying only for the content you want! You want Shark Week? You get Shark Week. You want trashy television? You can pay for (insert favorite MTV, BRAVO! or VH1 show).

This latest update from YouTube comes on the heels of many others, such as the new Google Adwords for Video platform and the recent SERP (search engine results page) changes with Auto-Generated Channels. So will YouTube move forward with paid subscriptions, pulling the plug on cable? Unfortunately, it’s too early to tell. The jury is still out as the Justice Department looks further into online video and the possibility of imposing Internet data limits on its consumers.

But what if YouTube paid subscriptions do come to fruition? Does this mean the end of the cable guy? It’s not likely; at least for right now. Your home box set is still leading the way for video consumption, according to a recent Nielsen study, even despite the growth in such platforms as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, and Roku Boxes.

Even though television is the clear winner for screen domination and content delivery, there’s no doubt we are beginning to see a shift in the way content is being delivered. It may not be tomorrow, or even five years from now, but sooner or later consumers will opt for a change in the way media is consumed on a daily basis.

What do you think? Could this be the beginning of the end for cable, as we know it? Sound off in the comments below with your predictions!