Summary
- YouTube Premium Lite subscribers upset over upcoming increase in ads.
- With $36 billion from ads in 2024, YouTube aims to combat adblockers.
- Changes to ad placements and AI features.
YouTube is making a controversial change to its Premium Lite tier, introducing more ads on the paid service. While the change hasn’t yet rolled out, YouTube Premium Lite subscribers are already voicing their discontent over the planned changes.
While YouTube is still free to use, the service has rolled out subscription plans over the years that offer users extra benefits. One example of this was YouTube Red, which came with exclusive content. These days, YouTube offers services like YouTube Premium, Premium Lite, and YouTube TV.
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YouTube Premium Lite rolled out pretty recently, offering a cheaper method of removing ads from nearly all videos except music. The service charges $7.99 instead of the standard YouTube Premium’s $13.99 per month. However, YouTube Premium Lite subscribers are now reporting that they’ve received emails that the service will be adding more ads soon. The email warns that starting on June 30, 2025, ads may appear on YouTube Shorts. This is in addition to ads shown on music content and when users search or browse the service.
YouTube Keeps Changing the Way Ads Work
As one might expect, a number of users aren’t thrilled about this change to the Premium Lite plan, as the whole point of signing up for it is to avoid ads. YouTube Premium Lite doesn’t come with the standard YouTube Premium’s extra features, like the ability to download videos or view them offline, nor background play. Some YouTube users have felt the need to subscribe to the Lite tier, complaining that the number and duration of ads on the platform have grown too much, and now may end up facing additional ads.
In 2024, YouTube made $36 billion USD from advertisements on the platform. Since then, the service has been cracking down on adblockers more than ever, leaving users with two choices: watch the ads, or sign up for a premium subscription. Meanwhile, the service has also placed an emphasis on Shorts content in recent times, largely in an attempt to compete with short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. With more content creators making Shorts, it remains to be seen if YouTube Premium Lite members choose to avoid that content due to its new ads, or upgrade to the higher-priced service.
These aren’t the only changes that YouTube has made to its ads in recent times. YouTube changed mid-roll ads in May, stating that it would be adding them to “natural break points” where they wouldn’t interrupt flow or spoken sentences. Also in May, YouTube announced a new AI feature called “Peak Points” that identifies where in a video’s timeline it receives elevated levels of viewer attention, and puts ads right after those moments. YouTube is constantly tweaking the way it serves ads, so further alterations to YouTube Premium Lite could be in the cards in the future.