What you could know
- Google beforehand supplied a lesser tier of YouTube Premium, known as Premium Lite, out there at a lower cost.
- YouTube Premium Lite supplied an ad-free expertise to subscribers till the pilot program was canceled in 2023.
- Now, Google is testing a brand new model of Premium Lite with some adverts in three nations.
In order for you an ad-free expertise on YouTube, Google desires you to pay for YouTube Premium. There’s just one tier, with particular person plans costing $13.99 per thirty days. You will get household or scholar plans, too, however individuals in search of a less expensive model of YouTube Premium have been left wanting extra. Though Google examined a “YouTube Premium Lite” plan for 2 years, the pilot program was shut down in 2023.
Now, there’s an opportunity YouTube Premium Lite might be making a comeback — albeit in a special type. Over the previous few days, customers in choose nations have noticed a Premium Lite subscription tier within the YouTube app. One person, Jonah Manzano, on Threads, shared a screenshot of the providing:
Publish by @jonahmanzano
View on Threads
Later, a Google spokesperson confirmed to Android Authority that the corporate was testing “a special model of Premium Lite.” The corporate added that the check was region-limited, and customers in “Australia, Germany and Thailand may even see the choice to enroll,” per the report. For now, it is too early to inform whether or not the YouTube Premium Lite plan will stick round in any respect, not to mention come to different areas.
Because the authentic Premium Lite experiment was restricted to pick out nations in Europe, North American customers have not but had the choice to pay for a less expensive YouTube Premium subscription. The unique pilot program gave subscribers an ad-free expertise whereas reducing out among the extras that had been included with the complete Premium subscription — like background video playback, video downloads, and YouTube Music Premium entry. It was priced at roughly €6.99, or round $7.50 in U.S. {dollars}.
Nonetheless, the Premium Lite that Google is testing at this time is much from the cut price the unique pilot program was. In alternate for about half the worth of a full Premium subscription, customers who join the brand new Premium Lite plan will get a “restricted advert expertise.” It does not utterly take away adverts anymore, and all of the extras are nonetheless lacking.
That is regardless of the Premium Lite check costing round double the worth of the unique, which has drawn criticism from customers on social media, resembling beneath the Reddit thread under.
It is no secret that there are many adverts on YouTube. For customers watching on a wise TV, there are fewer — however for much longer — advert breaks. That is why many YouTube watchers desire a technique to expertise the platform ad-free, they usually have fewer choices now that Google is amidst an ad-blocker crackdown.
YouTube appears to be following within the footsteps of different streaming providers, like Netflix, which have ad-supported subscription tiers. Nonetheless, YouTube is a free-to-access platform, so it is basically completely different. It stays to be seen whether or not customers are prepared and prepared to pay for a “restricted advert expertise” on YouTube with the Premium Lite check.
