Industry Odisha Bureau, April 11: In a bid to garner higher revenue reportedly through a hike in its user fee for the premium subscription along with unskippable longer advertisements (ads), world-renowned social media platform YouTube’s change in latest business policy has raised the hackles of its users.
Media reports said, the increase in the premium subscription fee was allegedly“rolled out quietly in the USA via emails to subscribers on April 10. There was no public announcement or press release from YouTube, Google or their parent company Alphabet”.
Reports added that the new charges would be “effective from May 16”.
While the “individual subscription will rise to $15.99 a month from $13.99, family subscriptions, where up to six accounts are possible, will rise to $26.99 per month from $22.99. The annual subscription will be $159.99, up from $139.99, while the Premium Lite will cost $8.99 a month, up from $7.99”, reports further added.
Moreover, reports also stated, “The App Store cost will be added for those accessing from Apple devices, while the individual YouTube Premium subscription costs would rise to around $20.99”.
On the contrary, reports revealed that YouTube is in quest of allegedly minting more money despite its “massive advertisement business” reportedly to a “whopping tune of over $40 billion per annum” claimed to be “bigger than platforms like Discovery, Disney, NBC, Warner Bros and Paramount”.
It has further been reported that YouTube’s income “topped $60 billion in 2025”.
