YouTube's Latest Revenue Grab: A 27% Price Increase For Family Plans (arstechnica.com) 58
Not content with doing $28.8 billion in revenue in 2021, YouTube has recently gone on the hunt for more revenue-generating strategies. Now, the Google division has announced a price hike for YouTube Premium family plans. From a report: As 9to5Google was the first to spot, the family plan is jumping over 27 percent in the US, from $17.99 to $22.99, with other regions also seeing price hikes. Instead of making an official announcement, Google is quietly emailing existing subscribers. So far, it does not seem like the single-person YouTube Premium price (still $11.99 per month) is going up. The family plan lets a user share ad-free YouTube Premium with up to five same-household family members for a discounted rate. On iOS, all the prices are higher if you sign up through the App Store, which charges a 30 percent fee on every transaction. In Apple land, YouTube Premium's family plan was always $22.99, and now it's jumping up to $29.99 a month. You can avoid the Apple tax by just paying Google directly through the YouTube website.
27% increase over 0% is still 0%, Google. (Score:1)
When you have kids, you'll understand (Score:4, Insightful)
If you are paying for "YouTube Premium" you are stupid and deserve whatever bad things happen.
If you had kids, you'd see the value. I subscribe as do about half of the parents I know. Kids fucking love YouTube. They watch it constantly. The ads are very intrusive and can be problematic. I've seen ads for rated R movies pop up for fucking Ryan's world (a show about a 8yo unboxing toys). My kids and all their friends prefer YouTube to Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+. They like to watch what they want to watch when they want to watch it. It's usually short videos that are either highlights of movies or TV shows or simply highly specialized videos about whatever they're interested in at the moment.
For many, YouTube is basically the internet...whatever you're into, watch videos about it. Kids today have less patience than we did as kids.
If I lost my job and needed to cut costs, they're on the short list. That said, it's a better use of money than most of our subscriptions, including the Apple ones (like Apple One). Another great feature is that you get YouTube music bundled for free. It's not the best of the streaming services. I honestly disliked it quite a bit at first and then I tried Apple Music and realized...OK, it's pretty bad, but nothing is worse than Apple Music. So...it's also a substitute for me paying for Spotify.
However, regardless of your ignorance...it's not particularly "smart" to say "you are stupid and deserve whatever bad things happen." I am guessing you have not persuaded a woman to reproduce with you...and if you have, I really feel sorry for your children. You're probably not a very good dad if you're that hostile and judgmental and if your kids are actually still kids and not grown, you're probably not very involved in their life if you simply cannot fathom ANYONE wanting to watch YouTube enough to pay to download videos or avoid the many ads.
It's definitely not for everyone. But there's a massive gulf between "eh, I don't see the value" to "you are stupid and deserve whatever bad things happen." Some of us have kids and actually love them. Hang out with less incels and you'll probably eventually meet someone who may watch YouTube with their kids and not want them watching ads.
Re:When you have kids, you'll understand (Score:5, Informative)
In case anyone might find this useful: uBlock Origin will block ads on Youtube videos and it works in Firefox mobile.
This particular fact could come in handy in a pinch ... or if you're getting pinched.
Re: When you have kids, you'll understand (Score:2)
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No, but it's perfect for desktop and mobile where a lot of people, kids included, watch youtube videos.
Do you have an alternative that also works for streaming devices (firestick, roku, etc.)? It's my understanding that pihole doesn't work very well when it comes to blocking youtube ads. I don't have one myself, so it would be very helpful if someone with one could confirm or contradict that.
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Pihole does block the little banner ads overlaying at he bottom of a video, but does not stop the video ads inserted into a video you are watching. I am curious if uBlock would work on those.
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I use a plugin in called "Enhancer for Youtube" and "Adblocker for Youtube." I've not seen a add on youtube, overlays or inserted into a video in years. I actually forgot Youtube had ads till I added the youtube app to my Nvidia Shield.
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Yes, UBlock_origin blocks all the ads.
Re: When you have kids, you'll understand (Score:2)
What's so infuriating about YouTube Premium is that they only make like $1/mo from me on adds but want to charge $12/mo to get rid of them.
I would happily pay $24/year, they could double money and I wouldn't need AdBlock. But their greed is absurd for content they don't even produce. They charge more than HBO and do so much less.
Are you shaming people for NOT stealing? (Score:3)
I guess you're just too lazy to find a solution that fixes the ad problem while freeing up $240+ you could be saving every single year. It's fine if you don't have enough time to find simple solutions that already exist, i guess it's also ok to provide that example to your kids as well.
You mean paying for things you consume and ensure your favorite content producers have some form of revenue? I am comfortable setting the example that if we enjoy some content, we pay the producers. Seems kind of sociopathic to say you're entitled to watch someone's content and deny them all forms of revenue.
It's one thing for you to rampantly steal...I honestly don't judge. It's not my job to police your behavior...however, you're pretty warped if you feel you need to shame people for NOT stealing.
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If you let your kids on youtube, I think badly of your parenting.
If they're too young to use youtube with adblock, they need to be on your private media server instead. If they're old enough, you don't need premium.
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If you let your kids on youtube, I think badly of your parenting.
If they're too young to use youtube with adblock, they need to be on your private media server instead. If they're old enough, you don't need premium.
How old are your kids?
You're shaming me for NOT stealing? (Score:3)
If you let your kids on youtube, I think badly of your parenting.
If they're too young to use youtube with adblock, they need to be on your private media server instead. If they're old enough, you don't need premium.
So you're seriously logging in to tell someone they're a bad parent for NOT stealing? You know the people who make this content rely on ad revenue to pay their bills and most of them are not millionaires.
I am not fond of telling people what to do, but it's shocking you'd shame me for paying for content. I honestly don't care if you're a sociopath and feel entitled to watch whatever the fuck you want and not pay money or even watch an ad....it's just really fucked up for you to get upset at someone wh
Nothing is free dude (Score:2)
Honestly, if you're so fucked up you think this is OK, it's not my job to fix you. It's just shocking that you and others like you want to shame me for saying.
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Many tech geeks simply don't understand "normal". They don't really understand that (or at least "why") people buy IoT devices, are not all that concerned about the fact that Amazon sees their Ring doorbell's video, and couldn't care less about open source, Linux, etc, except to the extend they get some free software. They keep in touch with friends and family using Facebook, and their kids probably watch more YouTube than cable TV.
YouTube premium certainly isn't for me, but then again, I recognize that I
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If you had kids, you'd see the value. I subscribe as do about half of the parents I know. Kids fucking love YouTube. They watch it constantly. The ads are very intrusive and can be problematic.
i spot two serious problems there. first, kids constantly watching youtube is a huge red flag in itself, you really need to restructure your/their time a bit. second, watching youtube without ads is not an arcane mystery, you yourself should be minimally tech/internet savvy enough before allowing your own offspring access to the internet in the first place. do you even know what crap they are watching? do you guys talk about what they watch?
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Spoken like a non-parent. It's funny to watch people who have no experience with kids describe these very regimental plans they'll have with their hypothetical children.
In theory, practice and theory are the same. In practice, they are not.
Re: When you have kids, you'll understand (Score:1)
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my kids are now old enough to make me a grandpa, except they seem smart enough not to do that. they were the first kids in their whole school to carry a cellphone, and they had controlled access to the internet long before anyone else in their generation. the really important bit is that they grew up in an environment with open and real communication that allowed me to monitor and nurture their whole approach to technology, society and the world, which was in the best interest of my duty as a parent. they w
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first, kids constantly watching youtube is a huge red flag in itself, you really need to restructure your/their time a bit. ... do you even know what crap they are watching? do you guys talk about what they watch?
I guess the fact that most modern TVs have a built in Youtube app these days isn't common knowledge.
I will answer your questions for you- Yes, I know exactly what my little one is watching because I'm the one that put it up for them. Youtube has a zillion hours of Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger, Blippi, and a bunch of other educational stuff. My wife or myself put the shows on and it is NOT set to roll on to other stuff. Also one of us in the room with the lil one all day. We pay for Youtube Premium so
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I blame you now that I can't get Blippi's garbage truck song out of my head. As for him making a dramatic turn, you never know. He started out doing gross-out videos before he realized he could make a fortune doing kids videos.
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"exca-vaaaa-tor!"
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I subscribe as do about half of the parents I know. Kids fucking love YouTube. They watch it constantly. The ads are very intrusive and can be problematic.
What you are describing is very close to extortion. You are paying Youtube for protection against problematic Youtube actions.
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Re:It has to be said (Score:4, Insightful)
Um - Youtube Premium would be the last streaming service I ever cancelled. I watch more Youtube than any other service (mostly from my Roku devices rather than a browser so you can't just do adblock), and I can't stand ads. Its MORE than worth the cost to me.
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If you are paying for "YouTube Premium" you are stupid and deserve whatever bad things happen. People with any amount of common sense will simply ignore this silly nonsense.
WTF. You may not have a use for it, but don't call others stupid just because you don't like or want it. I don't like liver & onions, but feel free to eat it. I won't call you stupid and wish bad things on you. Jesus christ dude.
Free Youtube (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Free Youtube (Score:5, Informative)
The free tier of Youtube is near unusable on smart TV
So don't do that then.
I stream to a TV, but using a laptop and an HDMI cable. No ads that way.
I will never connect a TV to the Internet.
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This is the way. All those other media players like Kodi fucking suck. More buggy and half assed than the shitty tv apps they claim to replace. My media library is a shared folder and VLC.
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Media box UI's (eg, Roku and Firestick) are far more streamlined for use on a big screen. When I get home after work I certainly don't want to be using a damned laptop connected to the TV. I want to kick back with my remote on my couch and unwind for a bit. Doing that without ads costs what? $12 for the individual account or $23 for the family plan now? That's pretty much nothing. If you live in a developing nation or something sure it might be a burden, but outside of that its peanuts.
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I stream to a TV, but using a laptop and an HDMI cable. No ads that way.
In 1956 we invented the remote control to prevent having to get up from the TV.
In 2002 companies started releasing all in one smart boxes to reduce the amount of clutter.
In 2017 companies started introducing TVs with minimal external connection and clear cables for a sleek wall finish which looks ultra modern.
In 2022 someone on the internet suggested I plug a laptop (what's that? Is that like an iPad?) into the TV via a HDMI cable (what's that? Is it an app I select on the homescreen?)
Jokes aside, Laptop to
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You're someone who likes "a sleek wall finish which looks ultra modern", and talked about iPads like they're a good thing.
Something tells me you don't mind sitting through commercials on streaming services.
Re: Free Youtube (Score:2)
Re: Free Youtube (Score:4, Informative)
Most ads from Youtube still get by my pi-hole... It's annoying.
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Most ads from Youtube still get by my pi-hole... It's annoying.
Use firefox /w noscript. Javascript is what enables ads on youtube.
Who pays? (Score:2)
YouTube asks for money so I can get PIP. I donâ(TM)t know what else you get. I upload videos. I watch videos. In Apple land, as it is apparently called, I get full screen and many features
Answer: mostly parents (Score:2)
This is like announcing AOL prices are going up.
YouTube asks for money so I can get PIP. I donâ(TM)t know what else you get. I upload videos. I watch videos. In Apple land, as it is apparently called, I get full screen and many features
Kids love YouTube. My kids and all their friends will watch 1000 individual videos a day if we let them. Most of the videos are about 3 min long, so they will watch a lot of commercials. It's definitely not essential, but starting at $10 it did make sense for us, especially since it bundles Google Music (now YouTube Music).
It's not the absolute best purchase I made on a monthly basis, but far from the worst. If I had to cut costs, it will probably go, but the nice thing about having a good job is th
My wife decide to cancel it because of increase (Score:2)
I subscribed... twice, two years apart. (Score:2)
My use case: sitting on a couch watching on the big screen, using an iPad as the remote, Youtube app on both the iPad and console.
Result? Most of the time scrubbing any reasonable distance would terminate the video and move to the next. This was tied to where the video "would have been" when a commercial should load. The markers were there on the bar. And even when simply played, they would hit the first ad point, and upchuck. "I should play an ad here... can't do that, he paid... VIDEO OVER. Moving on." Ad
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Note: the purpose of listing my setup was just so that others with/without issues can compare with what they have. All the usage was viea utube on tv and not screen mirroring
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Oh, it appeared across platforms. Same issue with Roku, NVidia Shield, XBox... Not a concern for me as I don't intend to resubscribe.
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streaming services in general (Score:2)
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YouTube's plan (Score:2)
1. Gain a monopoly
2. Spam more
3. Charge more
4. Suck more
5. Profit!
You missed a step after 1 and before 2. (Score:2)
Lobby your monopoly effectively in to perpetuity with bribes.
Good Timing (Score:2)
Most families with kids have a budget surplus these days so a huge price hike on shipping bits, specifically for families, is welcome from Google.
Talk about burning good will. FTC is moving for a breakup and "Fuck 'em" just jumped 7% in the polls.
Just another part of a vicious cycle... (Score:1)
It's how inflation drags us into a recession.
Company A has to charge Company B more, which has to charge Company C more which now has to charge Company D more, etc...
And, we all know that there are Companies in that chain that are already making tons of profit and really don't need a big hike.
All just to keep profits ever increasing.