What you need to know
- Bloomberg has reported that YouTube will soon introduce a new plan called YouTube Premium Lite in the U.S., Australia, Germany, and Thailand.
- Unlike YouTube Premium, which includes ad-free videos and other benefits along with YouTube Music, Premium Lite will only remove ads from non-music videos.
- This plan is unlikely to include features like offline downloads.
- The pricing for Premium Lite has not been discussed in the article, but it is speculated to be half the current cost of $13.99.
Google is reportedly bringing back its Premium Lite subscription after discontinuing it in 2023. Users will no longer need to pay for both YouTube Premium and YouTube Music to avoid ads while watching videos and podcasts on YouTube.
According to Bloomberg, a source familiar with the plans stated that the YouTube Premium Lite package will be announced soon in the mentioned countries.
A YouTube spokesperson mentioned, “As part of our commitment to provide our users with more choice and flexibility, we’ve been testing a new YouTube Premium offering with most videos ad-free in several of our markets. We’re hoping to expand this offering to even more users in the future.”
Premium Lite was tested late last year in Australia, Germany, and Thailand, offering limited ads and removing access to certain Premium perks. The reduced cost was appealing to users who already subscribed to expensive music services.
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The introduction of YouTube Premium Lite in the U.S. is expected to offer ad-free content at a lower cost, potentially around $6-$8 based on previous pricing in other countries.
Bloomberg suggests that this new tier could lead to a shift in revenue for YouTube content creators, with subscriptions becoming a more significant part than ads.
Google has pleasantly surprised me with this move
Last year, I advocated for the return of a Premium Lite plan to offer ad-free YouTube at a more affordable price, which now seems to be coming to fruition.
If YouTube Premium Lite is indeed launched in the U.S., I will be one of the first subscribers, as it will provide a cost-effective solution for ad-free content.
This decision by Google could potentially increase subscriber numbers and revenue for content creators on YouTube, making subscriptions more valuable than ad revenue.