YouTube may be planning to make 4K video playback a premium feature, has already started tests

YouTube is trying everything it can to get non-paying users to subscribe to its premium package. A few weeks back, we reported that they were planning to show at least 5 and up to 10 unskippable ads at the start of a video.

Now, the video platform is considering limiting 4K video playback for its premium subscribers. A Reddit user shared a screenshot of the YouTube app that limits 2160p playback to YouTube Premium. In the Reddit thread, several other users also confirmed seeing the same while many users can still play 2160p videos without asking for a premium.

YouTube has started to get really aggressive with its ads to boost its earnings. The company has increased ad frequency in a number of markets. In most cases, users are now seeing 2 or 3 unskippable ads being served before a video starts. The company is already testing to increase this number if ads are smaller. Ads in-between videos, which interrupt the video-watching experience quite significantly have also started going up. Google is yet to confirm anything about these tests. However, one should remember that both Google, as well as YouTube, keep testing different things, which are then rolled out widely if Google thinks their new feature packs have received a positive response from its customers, which, may not necessarily be the viewers in every case.   Although YouTube won’t get any positive feedback for pushing more ads from YouTube’s audience, Google’s actual customers, which include several businesses, marketing and advertising firms, as well as several brands, surely would appreciate them. That is why YouTube and Google are hoping to increase the number of ads on each video that is monetised.   YouTube certainly hopes that users who do not want to see more ads being served will be encouraged to get YouTube Premium. Google and YouTube reckon that just having an ad-free version of their subscription wouldn’t be enough. Hence, they are trying out other features that they can offer to their premium subscribers. One possible scenario would have been to offer exclusive content from the platform’s top creators for premium subscribers. This is how YouTube Originals was started. However, the Original programme wasn’t nearly as successful as YouTune would have hoped it to be. Hence, Google’s decision to play on features.