YouTube on Wednesday announced a new premium subscription tier called Premium Lite, which would allow users to watch “most” videos ad-free for $7.99 per month. As an entry-level subscription, the new tier would not offer the other benefits of the full YouTube Premium ($13.99 per month) subscription like downloads, background play, or the ability to watch music videos ad-free.
The addition to YouTube’s subscription lineup was leaked last month by Bloomberg. It’s been piloted in Thailand, Germany, and Australia, YouTube says, and will now be open to users in the U.S. The subscription will also be offered to all users in the pilot markets in the weeks ahead.
The expansion serves as a way to generate more revenue from subscriptions, which can help fuel creators’ businesses. The new Lite tier may make the most sense for younger viewers who have largely replaced TV time with watching online videos on sites like YouTube and TikTok.
It will also make watching videos on the big screen in the living room more appealing, as there would be fewer interrupting ads. YouTube recently said that the majority of its viewing in the U.S. is now taking place on TV, which has surpassed mobile and desktop.
With YouTube Lite, customers will be able to watch videos across verticals like gaming, fashion, beauty, cooking, news, and more, ad-free, but will be shown ads on music content and music videos.
Currently, YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscriptions combined reach over 125 million users worldwide, the company said, including trials.
YouTube says it will offer Premium Lite to more markets over the year ahead, initially as pilots.
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