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YouTube tests cheaper, ad-free option in Europe

(Logo: YouTube/Google, Background image: Pexels, Graphic: The Desk)

Google-backed video service YouTube is testing a cheaper version of its premium plan in some European countries.

The plan, called Premium Lite, allows streamers to watch YouTube videos without advertisement interruptions for €7 a month (about $8.30 a month).

The plan is being tested in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden, according to technology news website The Verge.

Premium Lite lacks certain other features found on YouTube’s other subscription plan: There is no offline download perk, no complimentary music streaming via YouTube Music and no background playback of videos. Those features are relegated to the more-expensive YouTube Premium, which costs €12 a month ($14.25 a month).

Currently, there are no plans to test YouTube Premium Lite in the United States, where a premium subscription costs $12 a month with the same added benefits as the plan in Europe.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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