YouTube has announced a significant price increase for its Premium subscription. In some countries the increase will be up to 50%. YouTube Premium family and individual plans will increase in price in Europe and other regions, including the Middle East and Asia.
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YouTube continues its policy of increasing prices for the paid version of the service, and this time the changes will affect users living outside the United States, reports the Android Police resource. Subscription cost increases vary by region and plan type, reaching up to 50% in some cases. For example, in Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, the cost of a YouTube Premium family subscription will increase by €8, from €18 to €26, and an individual subscription in these countries will rise by €2, to €14. In Switzerland, a family subscription will rise in price from 24 to 34 francs, and an individual plan will increase from 16 to 18 francs. In Sweden, a family subscription will also increase in price – from 179 to 279 kroons.
This is the second price increase for YouTube Premium over the past year, and it will come into force in November, judging by messages from Reddit users who received official notification from Google. These changes can be seen as a general trend towards higher prices for Premium subscriptions in different countries.
While the most active discussions on Reddit are among users in Europe, the price increase will also affect subscribers in the Middle East, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. In addition, in India a month ago, subscription prices increased by 20%. It is also reported that if you pay for a subscription through the App Store on iOS, you must be prepared for an even higher price increase due to commissions.
While YouTube Premium is becoming more expensive, Google is actively looking for new ways to make money from advertising that is shown to users of the free version of the service. So, last year, “unmutable” advertising appeared on TVs with the Smart TV function, and the launch of a new Pause Ads format was recently announced. Such advertising will appear during a pause while watching a video.