YouTube Premium Lite set to launch in the US, offering a cheaper ad-free experience

[midian182]

Something to look forward to: It's been almost four years since YouTube piloted a more affordable version of its premium subscription service in some European countries, but it was axed in 2023. Now, it seems YouTube is preparing to bring back Premium Lite – including in the US – which will remove ads from most uploaded videos.

According to a source familiar with the plans who spoke to Bloomberg, YouTube's Premium Lite tier will be announced soon in the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand.

Last October, YouTube said it was testing a different version of Premium Lite, with one user in Australia confirming that the tier had limited ads. The price was $8.99 ($5.74) AUD per month, whereas standard YouTube Premium is $16.99 ($10.85) in the country.

YouTube Premium offers several features, including ad-free viewing of videos, offline downloads, YouTube Music Premium, and some original content.

Premium Lite strips back most of these perks, including YouTube Music Premium, offline downloads and background play, but ads will still be absent from most non-music videos.

There's no word on how much Premium Lite will cost in the US. The current Premium offering is $14 per month, so based on the prices seen in other countries during the tests, somewhere around $7 seems likely.

Premium Lite is certainly an interesting proposition. YouTube has been clamping down hard on people using ad-blockers in recent times, but few are willing to hand over $14 per month for YouTube Premium, especially if they have no interest in YouTube Music. A cheaper version of the subscription that removes almost everything but the ad-free videos could have a lot of appeal.

A YouTube spokesperson confirmed that that the new tier was on its way.

"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," the spokesperson said. "We're hoping to expand this offering to even more users in the future with our partners' support."

YouTube Premium subscribers have been increasing steadily over the years. According to estimates, there were approximately 20 million US subscribers in 2020. Today, this number is believed to be more than 28 million.

Would you be willing to pay around $7 for an ad-free YouTube experience that doesn't include YouTube Music? Let us know in the comments below.

Center image: Allison Saeng

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YouTube Premium Lite set to launch in the US, offering a cheaper ad-free experience

 

[Megalomaniac]

I refuse to pay Youtube anything.

 

[NumberNine]

I have no desire to contribute to Google's nonsense in any way.

 

[VitalyT]

Without background play, "Premium Lite" is completely useless. This is one function they should not strip off. It means you cannot listen to the music while on the go, you will have to keep YouTube open in front at all times. It's a f-ng joke.

 

[mgwerner]

Why, when AdBlocker for YT is free?

 

[letsgoiowa]

I refuse to pay Youtube anything.

Great, then stop watching it and spending time on it.
If you get value from a service, don't be a freeloader.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I won't give them a dime. Still blocking ads without a hitch.

 

[BadThad]

This might be worthwhile. I use adblock plus but they are definitely cracking down on it. After so many views, YT blocks videos and demands you turn it off. The only way I've found to get around it is to clear all cookies and reload the browser. Then it works again for awhile.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Great, then stop watching it and spending time on it.
If you get value from a service, don't be a freeloader.

Na, I'll just keep using youtube stream rippers to download content AD free, and watch it using Jelly anywhere in the world any time I want. They make billions in ADs that 98% of the world does not know how to block. I'm not paying them twice...

 

[Eldrach]

Without background play, "Premium Lite" is completely useless. This is one function they should not strip off. It means you cannot listen to the music while on the go, you will have to keep YouTube open in front at all times. It's a f-ng joke.

You listen to music from..Youtube?

 

[0dium]

You listen to music from..Youtube?

I do it too. How else do you do it?

 

[VitalyT]

You listen to music from..Youtube?

Yes I do, and you sound like you've got problems with that... let me guess, sound quality not up your butt?

 

[Megalomaniac]

Na, I'll just keep using youtube stream rippers to download content AD free, and watch it using Jelly anywhere in the world any time I want. They make billions in ADs that 98% of the world does not know how to block. I'm not paying them twice...

Thank You.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Yes I do, and you sound like you've got problems with that... let me guess, sound quality not up your butt?

128kb VBR audio streaming ... eeeewwwww that's like having smegma in your ear.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Thank You.

Since I think you are being genuine in the thank you.. this is my current favorite tool :
4K Video Downloader Plus from = 4kdownload dot com

It is limited to 10 downloads per day for free use.. but I'm all caught up on my subs so it works great with that limitation. if I'm flying I'll skip watching my subs for a few days and download a bunch and transfer them onto the tablet..

 

[Win7user]

YouTube is owned by Google. No, thanks...

 

[brucek]

Why, when AdBlocker for YT is free?

This is what I do, but then again it works because I'm mostly on my desktop. My friend who subscribed did it because his daughter was constantly watching on her iPad plus they're all on their phones all the time.

 

[Eldrach]

Yes I do, and you sound like you've got problems with that... let me guess, sound quality not up your butt?

No no - it’s just that there’s so many good cheap music apps out there..Pandora for instance - why bother with youtube which basically will try to force you into a bigger package and has very little focus on the music portion

 

[Acomputernerd]

Great, then stop watching it and spending time on it.
If you get value from a service, don't be a freeloader.

You're generally right, but business models can also be innovative. The Chinese video platform "bilibili" has attracted hundreds of millions of users by adopting a strategy of ad-free videos + free downloads + free playback in the background on cell phones. Their bandwidth costs are much higher than their western counterparts due to the communist monopoly of the telecom industry, but this model has been operating successfully for years!