Since its official launch in March 2025 in several countries, including Germany, Australia, Thailand, the United States, and recently Canada, YouTube Premium Lite has established itself as an intermediate solution for users tired of ad interruptions but unwilling to pay the high price of the classic Premium plan. For €5.99 per month in Germany, the plan guaranteed the removal of ads from videos (except for music videos), but without downloading, background listening, and access to YouTube Music, which remained the prerogative of the classic Premium plan.
Starting June 30, 2025, the situation changes radically. YouTube has begun to warn its English-speaking subscribers: ads will appear in Shorts videos, the search engine, and navigation on the platform. Short formats, particularly popular with young people and experiencing strong growth, will no longer be spared.
Fighting ad blockers, and adding more
This turnaround seems all the more paradoxical given that the platform has been actively fighting ad blockers for several months, encouraging users to subscribe to a paid offer to avoid them. By adding promotional spots to Premium Lite, YouTube is mainly blurring its message by exposing its subscribers to an experience they thought they would avoid by paying out of pocket.
The frustration is all the greater given that the subscription price remains unchanged, without compensation in terms of new benefits or functional improvements. Premium Lite will continue to exclude offline playback, background listening, and access to YouTube Music, reserving these features for the Premium plan, which is priced nearly double depending on the market.
YouTube wants to monetize its Shorts
Integrating ads into Shorts is part of a logical monetization strategy. The format has become a fiercely competitive arena against TikTok and Instagram Reels. For YouTube, it's about maximizing revenue in a rapidly expanding segment, even if it means sacrificing the appeal of its Lite offering. Seeing ads, even when paying, may not make Internet users happy, who might be tempted to turn to less legal solutions.
For the moment, France is not affected by this announcement. For the simple reason that our country is not yet eligible for the YouTube Premium Lite subscription. The fact remains that the platform, which saw its advertising revenue increase by 14% in the last quarter of 2024, seems to prioritize short-term profitability, to the detriment of a satisfactory user experience. This evolution of Premium Lite marks the end of a compromise that had attracted many users. By making an experience that is no longer completely ad-free payable, YouTube is playing into the hands of SVOD platforms, which have long since opted for paid advertising.
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