YouTube Premium falls flat for me as a TV viewer

YouTube Premium is likely one of the most underrated subscription providers, and you do not even get unique reveals and films with it. The large draw of YouTube Premium is the whole lack of advertisements throughout all content material on the platform. Maybe the most important criticism of YouTube is what number of advertisements there are, so paying a month-to-month charge to do away with them is nothing to scoff at.

It is not simply ad-free viewing that offers Premium a superb worth, both. You get a free subscription to YouTube Music, the flexibility to play movies within the background, and you may obtain movies if you’re touring. These are all good issues, however plenty of them are fully wasted on me. I do not use YouTube Music, nor do I plan to. I do most of my YouTube viewing on my TV, so background play and downloaded movies do not transfer the needle both. YouTube brings lots to the desk with a Premium subscription, however hardly any of it applies to me.

YouTube Premium has many cool issues I do not care about

The trustworthy fact

The primary factor I am on the lookout for from YouTube is the flexibility to look at one thing with out advertisements, and that is precisely what it gives. I have been utilizing Premium for thus lengthy now that I am unable to think about a world the place I am going again to seeing them. Lots of people clear up this downside with an ad blocker, however that does not actually assist me if I am principally watching on a TV. I am undecided if there’s a strategy to set up an advert blocker on TV, and if there may be, I am not likely attempting to determine it out. I simply desire a strategy to sit down on my sofa after a protracted day and watch some movies with none additional trouble.

For lots of people, spending greater than $10 a month simply to do away with advertisements is a steep ask, so having these additional options is a pleasant bonus. In follow, I simply do not understand how a lot worth it truly is. I am certain they’re on the market, however I do not personally know anyone who makes use of YouTube Music — as Spotify simply has a lot model loyalty — and it is form of scary typically.

This leaves expanded bitrates and downloaded movies as the principle promoting factors. The elevated bitrate is sweet, I am unable to lie, however I do not understand how a lot of a distinction it actually makes. It is not like I’ve an issue with how YouTube seems to be, and it isn’t as essential to get good image high quality as it’s for a streaming service equivalent to Netflix. Vacationers undoubtedly get plenty of worth out of with the ability to obtain movies and watch them with out an web connection, however that merely does not apply to me. I do not journey fairly often, and after I do, watching YouTube movies is likely one of the final issues I take into consideration.

Finally, this leaves me with plenty of YouTube options that I do not get a lot use out of. It is not YouTube’s fault, as there’s solely a lot that may be supplied. The large draw is having no advertisements, however $14 a month is a bit outrageous. YouTube can preserve including issues to Premium to present it extra perceived worth, however I believe plenty of them would merely fall flat for me. That is why I am an even bigger fan of Premium Lite than I’m of Premium.

Premium Lite solves many of the issues

It seems like a service made for me

Premium Lite is a stripped down version of the common Premium, and it is available in at a fraction of the price. Lite is simply $8 a month, so it is almost half the value and gives most of what I am on the lookout for. This model of Premium does not include any fancy bells and whistles or a YouTube Music membership, however it blocks advertisements. It is not each advert, and if you happen to watch music movies or YouTube Shorts, you will see them periodically. That is simply high-quality for me, since I do not watch that, so Premium Lite got here on the proper time. There is a purpose it is one of my favorite month-to-month subscriptions.

Lite is not with out its personal issues, nevertheless. The large downside is that I am unable to affix a household plan, so I’ve to be on it individually. The problem is sharing an account with my entire family, and which means messing with my very own algorithm. It is not as a lot of an issue if you watch the identical movies with only one individual, however it could actually get messy if 4 persons are all attempting to look at their very own factor.

Apart from that, I haven’t got lots to complain about with Lite, and I am pleased there’s an possibility on the market that matches my wants. It is not typically that I really feel like a subscription service gives glorious worth, however that is how I really feel with Premium Lite.

Free trial

1-month free trial

Adverts

Most content material ad-free

Downloads and background play

No

YouTube Premium Lite removes most advertisements from YouTube for $8 a month.

For its value, I am unable to ask for a lot — actually, I would personally spend round $10 a month to not see advertisements. After we transfer additional previous that mark, I would need to assume much more about what I am prepared to pay for. Subscription providers eat up plenty of my month-to-month invoice, and whereas I attempt to cancel issues the place I can, the fact is that it is tough to do this.

There’s at all times one thing attention-grabbing popping out that requires me to have a sure service, so it is a powerful factor to juggle. One subscription that is remained via all of it is Premium Lite, and it will keep that manner so long as the value stays the identical. All good issues come to an finish, and you may have a look at the value of YouTube TV for instance of what Google can do to a once-great service.