Let’s face it, nobody likes ads. Whether it’s commercials on TV, ads before YouTube videos, or those full-page ones that cover up entire web pages, nobody likes to look at them. YouTube Premium has been a great way to get around them if you aren’t a fan of using an ad-blocker. For somebody who watches a lot of YouTube on my tablet or TV, ad blockers weren’t an option for me anyway, so a monthly fee was the path of least resistance.
However, I thought Premiumcost a bit too muchfor what it offered, considering I don’t use YouTube Music or download videos very often. In fact, I haven’t ever downloaded a YouTube video, at least on purpose, and I can’t think of a time when I ever would’ve wanted to do that. I remember one time on a flight I downloaded a season of a TV show on my tablet, but I ended up watching something on the plane’s screen instead.
YouTube Premium
There’s only one reason to keep paying for YouTube Premium
I can never go back to watching YouTube with ads again.
Take my money Google
On March 5, Google came out with ablog postannouncing the service. The post said Lite would start rolling out in the coming weeks, but now that we’re nearly a month past the initial announcement, I don’t see anything in sight. That’s a bummer for me because I think it’d be a major game-changer, and I can only see it increasing the amount of hours I spend on YouTube. The lower price cuts out YouTube Music, background playing, and downloaded videos, and that’s good news for me since I don’t need any of that with my subscription. Premium Lite cuts the service down to the simple goal ofminimizingads, but not eliminating them entirely.
It’s bizarre to me that there hasn’t been more communication from Google about when this service is rolling out worldwide. The blog post says it’s out in Thailand, Germany, and Australia, but I thought we’d be seeing it in more places by this point. It’s difficult to gauge just how worthwhile Premium Lite is without trying it, but I still feel like there’s a lot to like here. I just hope it gets here sooner rather than later. With Google’s communication so far, I have my doubts.
Thought YouTube Premium was just for skipping ads? Think again
YouTube Premium has more than a couple perks that make paying worth it.
I wish more services offered value like this
Let me be in control
Services like Netflix have started to make it far more appealing to opt for ad-supported tiers to save money, and while I don’t personally use these tiers, it’s nice that Netflix did it. When you’re looking to save money, I wish more companies took notes and offered varying tiers. For example, somebody who doesn’t need the best of the best picture quality won’t benefit by subscribing to the highest tier of Max that gives Dolby Vision. The same thing goes for YouTube Premium if you don’t have any intention of using YouTube Music.
A lot of services add to their monthly fee by slipping in perceived value, even if it’s not something you use often. I don’t find myself in a situation where I don’t have internet very often, and I have no monthly data cap, so I don’t benefit at all from being able to download YouTube videos. That’s a situation where the price gets driven up for something I don’t even use, and it’s nice to have the option to omit it and save cash.
More plans for everybody is good news in my book
Since I haven’t had the chance to test it yet, I don’t know what Premium Lite means exactly by most videos being ad-free, but at nearly half the price as regular Premium, I’ll put up with whatever it means. The blog post mentions I could still run into ads in front of music content or Shorts. Luckily, I don’t plan on using YouTube for either of those things, so it’s another net positive for me. If you want to have more value packed into your subscription, the old YouTube Premium plan isn’t going anywhere. More plans for everybody is good news in my book, and I’m glad that’s how things are shaking out. I know not everybody is in the same situation as me, and that’s why it’s important to continue offering different things for different people.
What is the difference between YouTube TV and YouTube Premium?
YouTube’s different subscription options can be confusing, here’s how the different services shake-up.
