Grandfathered YouTube Users To Be Hit With Price Hike, To Pay More From January

In the new year, users of grandfathered YouTube Premium will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets. The grace period allowing these users to enjoy the old rates is drawing to a close in January.

What Happened: As reported by 9To5Google, YouTube had initially announced a price increase for its premium service in the U.S. in July. However, accounts grandfathered by Google Play Music and YouTube Red were allowed to retain the old rate for a few extra months. This perk will no longer be available from January onwards.

The price of an individual YouTube Premium subscription had increased by $2, reaching $13.99 per month. Now, the rates for grandfathered users are set to match the new monthly rate of $13.99, as the extended period at their current price comes to an end.

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YouTube, in a statement, said, “We don’t make these decisions lightly, but this update will allow us to continue to improve Premium and support the creators and artists you watch on YouTube.”

The company unveiled new features for Premium in mid-November and assured users of more exclusive benefits in the future.

This price increase is not exclusive to the U.S. It will also be implemented internationally, and users wishing to cancel can manage their subscriptions through the YouTube platform.

Why It Matters: This move by YouTube is part of a broader pricing strategy that saw the company increase the price of its Premium service in seven countries in November. The increase followed a similar price hike in the U.S. earlier in the year. YouTube’s consistent efforts to boost its revenue, such as expanding its ad-blocker crackdown globally, underline the importance of its premium service in its overall business strategy.

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