After YouTube spent two years piloting Premium Lite, a low-cost subscription plan for watching ad-free videos in select countries, the platform is scrapping the package. YouTube announced in an email to users that Premium Lite will no longer be available after October 25, 2023.
YouTube’s Premium Lite package is priced at 6.99 euros per month and will be launched in some European countries for the first time in 2021, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. This plan offers ad-free viewing across YouTube's various apps and formats, but does not offer Premium's other features like offline downloads, background playback, or any YouTube Music benefits.
But soon, existing Premium Lite users will have two options: watch YouTube again with ads, or subscribe to the pricier YouTube Premium, which includes YouTube Music. In an email notifying users of the change, YouTube said it would offer Lite users a one-month free trial of YouTube Premium, regardless of whether they had tried it before. YouTube notes that users will need to cancel their Lite subscription or wait for it to be canceled to redeem the offer. YouTube raised the prices of Premium and Music subscriptions in the United States in July this year.
YouTube wrote in the email: "We are writing to inform you that after October 25, 2023, we will no longer offer your version of Premium Lite. While we understand this may be disappointing news, we will continue to develop different versions of Premium Lite based on feedback from users, creators and partners."
Many users expressed their disappointment in social media posts, and discussions on the ResetEra forum are growing, with other European users lamenting the loss of the service. Premium Lite may be a relatively unfamiliar service to many users living in the United States and elsewhere, but based on initial user reactions to its discontinuation, Premium Lite appears to be the "just right" level for those who want to skip ads without paying more for YouTube Music or downloading videos for offline viewing.