YouTube is ending its ad-free Premium Lite subscription, The Verge reports. Customers received an email from YouTube stating that Premium Lite will no longer be available after October 25, 2023.
The email reads:
“We’re writing to let you know that after 25 October 2023, we will no longer be offering your version of Premium Lite,” YouTube writes in the email. “While we understand that this may be disappointing news, we continue to work on different versions of Premium Lite as we incorporate feedback from our users, creators and partners.”
After testing for two years, YouTube introduced Premium Lite as a lower-cost plan for watching videos without ads in some countries. This plan costs 6.99 euros per month, rolling out in select European countries in 2021, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
It offers ad-free viewing but doesn’t include features like offline downloads, background playback, or YouTube Music access. Existing Premium Lite subscribers will have two options:
Go back to watching YouTube with ads or upgrade to the more expensive YouTube Premium, which includes access to YouTube Music.
YouTube will offer Lite subscribers a free one-month trial of YouTube Premium, even if they already received the trial. To take advantage of this offer, subscribers must cancel their Lite subscription or wait for cancellation.