YouTube has announced the discontinuation of its Premium Lite subscription plan, which provides ad-free viewing across YouTube's apps.
The plan, launched in select European countries in 2021, will no longer be available after October 25. In its email to current Premium Lite subscribers, YouTube said it will "continue to work on different versions of Premium Lite," incorporating feedback from users, creators, and partners.
The main benefit of YouTube Premium Lite was ad-free streaming
Launched in 2021, YouTube's Premium Lite plan was a lower-cost subscription option for ad-free video viewing accessible in select European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.
The main benefit of the plan was that it offered ad-free streaming across YouTube's apps. However, it lacked Premium's other features including offline downloads, background playback, and other benefits of YouTube Music.
It was priced at €6.99 (approximately Rs. 615) per month.
Lite subscribers get one-month free YouTube Premium subscription
After the discontinuation of Premium Lite, subscribers will have to pick between two choices: return to watching YouTube with ads or subscribe to the more expensive YouTube Premium which also includes YouTube Music.
In its email to users, YouTube stated it would offer Lite subscribers a one-month free trial to YouTube Premium, irrespective of whether they've had a trial before.
To redeem the offer, subscribers would have to cancel their Lite subscription or wait for it to expire.