YouTube users in Australia and France had a nasty surprise waiting for them in their emails — informing them that their subscription fee for the platform was shooting up. The move comes after YouTube rolled out measures to block playback for anyone using extensions that strip out ads.
In Australia, emails landed in inboxes this week telling family-plan members their monthly fee will jump from A$32.99 ($21.45) to A$39.99 ($26.00). That is a rise of more than 20 percent in just 12 months. Down under, many see this as a one-two punch. First, the adverts stop loading if you run an ad-blocker. Now the bill is going up again.
Over in France, YouTube has told family-plan users that their fee will climb to €29.99 ($34.57) per month. That is up from €25.99 ($29.96) under the previous rate. The company says the extra revenue will help it support creators and invest in new features. But as ad-blocking workarounds have all but vanished, some subscribers feel squeezed.
As expected, users have taken to the r/youtube subreddit to vent their frustrations with the move. One user said, “Unacceptable. Premium price nearly doubled in 2 years… This was one of 2 remaining subs I had left, the other which went up recently as well, time to give them all away.”
Dozens of others reacted to the post and some say they may simply cancel their subscriptions and watch ads instead. Many users use Premium to avoid annoying mid-rolls and sponsored content. With YouTube now forcing people to choose between a higher fee and a browser without playback, patience is running thin. There are multiple other threads on Reddit discussing the announcement.
This year, the platform ramped up its efforts to dissuade users from using ad blockers by messing with video playback when the system detected an active ad blocker. In March, we highlighted how users were being greeted with a pop-up notifying them that ad blockers violate YouTube’s terms of service. Then, just days ago many users once again started getting notified that their playback would be blocked if they didn’t turn off ad blockers. However, not much after, we did highlight some workarounds that seem to bypass the restriction.
That said, the whole situation seems like an attempted cash grab. By ruining the viewing experience for users who have ad blockers, YouTube is leaving them with no other option but to subscribe to Premium. Anyone who uses the platform without a subscription or ad blockers knows how painfully bad the experience is with a boatload of ads, some of which are unskippable too.
If you thought that was the end, I have even more bad news. You probably heard of Premium Lite, the company’s nerfed subscription offering which ditches some Premium benefits for ad-free playback. Well, it turns out that YouTube is now bringing ads to Premium Lite as well, albeit only in Shorts and Music content.
With the latest price bumps taking effect in July, YouTube is banking on enough subscribers sticking around. But if too many people walk away, the platform may find itself back where it started — facing a fresh round of ad-block battles and unhappy creators. For now, though, the message to viewers in Australia and France is clear: pay up or prepare to watch ads again.
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Dwayne Cubbins
1055 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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