YouTube starts testing a new, cheaper 'Premium Lite' subscription
It remains unclear if the new subscription tier will be offered in North America.
- Google is testing a new premium YouTube subscription tier called "Premium Lite."
- YouTube Premium Lite is currently limited to certain markets in Europe.
- Just like YouTube Premium, the new "Lite" plan offers ad-free viewing.
YouTube has started testing a new offering that gives users an ad-free experience for a lower monthly price. The new "Premium Lite" plan was first spotted by a user on ResetEra (via The Verge).
YouTube confirmed the test to Android Central and shared the following statement:
We launched YouTube Premium nearly six years ago to give users more choice on YouTube. Since then, we've been working to build a subscription service that fits the needs of our users. In Nordics and Benelux (except for Iceland), we're testing a new offering to give users even more choice: Premium Lite costs 6.99/month (or local equivalent per month) and it includes ad-free videos on YouTube.
The new Premium Lite subscription plan is currently available only in a few countries in Europe. While YouTube Premium costs 11.99 per month in the old continent, the "Lite" plan costs 6.99 per month. In addition to the YouTube web app, Premium Lite lets you enjoy ad-free viewing on iOS devices, smart TVs, the YouTube Kids app, as well as the best Android phones.
However, the new Premium Lite tier doesn't offer any other features apart from an ad-free YouTube experience. If you want to download your favourite videos for offline viewing or have them continue playing in the background, you'll have to get a YouTube Premium subscription. The plan doesn't offer any YouTube Music benefits either.
Depending on the response YouTube receives from users in Europe, it is likely that the new Premium Lite tier will expand to other markets as well in the future.
YouTube Premium
Google's YouTube Premium not only lets you watch videos ad-free, but also allows you to save videos for when you're offline and have them play in the background even when the screen is locked.