In a move that has shaken the YouTube user community, the platform has announced a significant increase in the price of its Premium subscription, sparking a torrent of criticism and discontent among those who enjoy this service.
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On November 7th, subscribers began receiving notifications detailing the imminent price increase, scheduled to take effect on December 7th.
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Among the shared examples, it was revealed that the cost in the United Kingdom would increase from £16.99 ($22 USD) to £25.99 ($33.70 USD) in one of the regions, while in another, the price would rise from €22.99 ($24.80 USD) to €36.99 ($40 USD), resulting in an expenditure close to $500 per year for the Premium YouTube subscription.
The reactions were not long in coming. Upset users expressed their disbelief at the rising costs. One of them commented: "These prices are becoming absurd." Another expressed his discontent: "I really feel offended by this. It's sad to see how they have lost touch with reality."
Speculations and advice
The outrage spread even further with statements like: "Are they crazy?" and direct recommendations to cancel the subscription, with a user pointing out the 9 euro increase and warning: "Just cancel that subscription, you'll thank me later."
It was speculated that the notification about the price increase came from Apple, which takes a 30% cut of all purchases, which could explain the significant price hike.
This controversy comes shortly after a similar episode on Twitch, where Tier 1 subscription prices were increased to $7.99 on mobile devices, causing discontent among users of that platform.
The price increase on YouTube coincides with the introduction of a more affordable and limited version of Premium, which lacks all the features of the standard subscription, still keeping some ads.
In response to user complaints about the persistence of ads despite having a Premium subscription, YouTube has started investigations to address this issue.
Additionally, the Google-owned platform has intensified its efforts against ad blockers, targeting third-party applications such as YouTube ReVanced and launching features to combat ad blockers permanently.