Alphabet-owned (GOOGL) Google’s YouTube Premium Lite is coming soon to the U.S., Australia, Germany, and Thailand. The news was first reported by Bloomberg. The new subscription plan is expected to cost nearly half of the current YouTube Premium price of $12.99 per month but will not have some perks such as access to ad-free YouTube Music (Premium), offline downloads, and background playback.
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YouTube Premium Lite Could Cost Half the Price
The new cheaper subscription plan is aimed at users who usually wish to see content other than music videos. Nonetheless, users would have ad-free access to “most videos,” the report stated. The plan will offer subscribers an ad-free experience and access to a massive library of how-to content and podcasts. In the U.S., the current YouTube Premium plan is priced at $13.99 per month, and the YouTube Music Premium plan costs $10.99 a month. The exact pricing of the new Premium Lite version remains unknown at the moment.
YouTube had tested a similar model earlier between 2021 and 2023 but had no success with it in Europe. This time around, YouTube has been testing the subscription model in some markets, including Australia, since a couple of months. The Premium Lite offering costs AU$8.99 per month, while the regular YouTube Premium costs AU$16.99 per month in Australia.
In Fiscal 2024, YouTube generated $36.15 billion in advertising revenues, up 14.7% compared to FY23. The new subscription service, if successful, could add more subscription revenues, making it a powerful contributor other than ad revenues.
Is Google Stock a Good Buy?
Wall Street remains divided on Alphabet stock due to the company’s massive AI investments. On TipRanks, GOOGL stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 27 Buys and 10 Hold ratings. Also, the average Alphabet price target of $215.85 implies a nearly 17% upside potential from current levels.
