Google is trying a more affordable one premium subscription for YouTube which offers viewings without ads and without its other features YouTube Premium, such as offline downloads or playback on background.
The new subscription is called "Premium Lite". THE specific subscription currently being tested in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
"In Scandinavia and Benelux (except from Iceland), we're testing a new offer to give users even more options: Premium Lite costs €6,99/month and includes ad-free YouTube videos,” said a YouTube spokesperson. YouTube's existing Premium package costs around €11,99 per month in Europe.
Premium Lite will not show YouTube ads on the web, in apps Android, iOS, on smart TVs and game consoles, and in the YouTube Kids app. However, it will not offer any of the benefits of YouTube Music such as ad-free listening, and it does not include other features of the Premium package, such as background playback (when you want to switch apps while still listening to audio from YouTube videos), or offline downloads.
The Premium Lite package sounds like a tempting proposition for those who can't stand ads.
But the price is about 60 percent of the price of a regular Premium subscription, and offers about a quarter of its benefits. YouTube reports that the current subscription is still in an experimental phase, but that it is considering creating more packages.