YouTube increases Premium price again, says 90-second unskippable ads are a bug

YouTube's Premium subscription sees another price hike as users of the free service report being forced to watch unusually long, unskippable advertisements. | Contesto: cronaca

Punti chiave

• YouTube increases Premium price again, says 90-second unskippable ads are a bug

Contesto

YouTube has implemented another price increase for its Premium subscription service, raising the cost of an individual plan to $15.99 per month. The move coincides with widespread user reports of a disruptive bug affecting the platform's free, ad-supported tier, where viewers are being shown unskippable advertisements lasting up to 90 seconds. This dual development has sparked significant user frustration, placing the video giant's monetization strategy under intense scrutiny. The latest adjustment marks the second price hike for YouTube Premium in less than a year, following an increase to $13.99 per month last July. The service, which offers ad-free viewing, background playback, and access to YouTube Music, has steadily climbed in cost since its introduction. This recurring pattern of increases is drawing comparisons to similar strategies employed by other major streaming services, raising questions about the ceiling for consumer tolerance in a crowded digital subscription market. For many long-time users, the value proposition is being recalibrated with each incremental rise. Compounding the discontent over pricing is a separate but parallel issue affecting non-paying users. Across social media and support forums, a growing number of viewers have documented encounters with abnormally long video advertisements that cannot be skipped. These ads, reportedly lasting between 60 and 90 seconds, represent a significant departure from YouTube's standard ad formats and have been described by the company as an unintended bug. The experience has disrupted viewing sessions and led to accusations that the platform is deliberately degrading the free tier to push users toward the newly more expensive Premium option. In response to the outcry, a YouTube spokesperson stated that the extended, unskippable ads are "not by design" and that engineering teams are working to resolve the issue. The company maintains that its standard ad experience for free users consists of shorter, skippable spots, and that the 90-second versions are a technical error. However, the timing of this glitch, immediately following a premium price announcement, has led to widespread skepticism. Analysts...

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Categoria: cronaca