Google plans to provide YouTube users an alternative to its Premium service, one that will be cheaper yet ad-free. The new plan is internally known as “Premium Lite,” but it’s unclear if YouTube will use the same name for the official release.
According to Bloombergthe cheaper version of YouTube Premium will be announced soon, but it will only be available in four countries at launch: United States, Australia, Germany and Thailand.
The main target of the “Premium Lite” service is YouTube users who prefer to watch programs rather than music videos. The report also mentions that “Premium Lite” will offer members access to the “vast library of podcasts and how-to clips without advertising.”
Premium Lite members who want to watch music videos without ads will still have to pay for Premium. There’s no mention of price yet, but it’s worth mentioning that YouTube Premium costs $13.99 in the United States, to the Lite version should be much cheaper considering that it doesn’t include YouTube Music Premium, which costs $10.99 individually.
A YouTube spokesperson was quoted saying the following: “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 with our partners’ support.”
YouTube has been testing a cheaper service for months | Image credit: PhoneArena
For the unaware, YouTube has been testing a cheaper version of its Premium plan for many months now, but not in the United States. It’s unclear what other benefits Premium Lite members will get aside from the ability to watch how-to clips and podcasts.
Perhaps the ability to download content for offline watch could be among the perks the upcoming Premium Lite service will offer, along with the option to run videos in the background.
Based on this report, it looks like Premium Lite is no longer a service aimed at emerging markets, but rather a global product meant to offer YouTube users with different needs a cheaper alternative.
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