“Google Inc. is rolling out an ad-free subscription service, YouTube Red, along with a host of original programming to lure paying subscribers to its massive YouTube platform,” Hannah Karp reports for The Wall Street Journal. “YouTube Red will cost $9.99 a month for Android users when it launches in the U.S. next week after years of development. It will be available when subscribers sign on a variety of devices and apps, including a new YouTube Music app that is set to launch later this year. ”
“YouTube Red will expand to other major markets next year. For users of iPhones and other Apple Inc. devices, the service will cost $12.99 a month,” Karp reports. “The subscription price for Apple users is more expensive because Apple charges app makers a 30% fee on in-app purchases such as subscriptions, a Google spokeswoman said.”
MacDailyNews Take: Well, fsck you very much, Google. Petulantly driving away your YouTube users who have money and have demonstrated the actual will to spend it, instead of smartly absorbing the cost of doing business in the world’s premiere mobile app store in order to gain access to the world’s best customers, is not the best business plan, geniuses. Android settlers paying $10/mo. for anything? Bwahahahahahaha!
“Google has for several years offered a separate $10-a-month music-subscription service, Google Play Music,” Karp reports. “But its subscriber base is much smaller than the 20 million subscribers paying for Spotify AB and the 6.5 million subscribers paying for Apple’s three-month-old Apple Music, according to people familiar with the matter.”
MacDailyNews Take: Because those who settle for Google Android devices are either cheapskates or poor and/or just using their pretend iPhones as phones and not much else (see related articles below), they’re certainly not going to be paying – gasp! – to stream YouTube content.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Pfft.
SEE ALSO:
Apple iPhone owns over 90% of smartphone profits, so why do others even bother fighting over Apple’s scraps? – October 8, 2015
Apple’s iPhone juggernaut continues with record-breaking sales while Android peddlers fight over scraps – September 28, 2015
Apple’s iPhone owns 92% of smartphone industry’s profits – July 13, 2015
Poor man’s iPhone: Android on the decline – February 26, 2015
Study: iPhone users are smarter and richer than those who settle for Android phones – January 22, 2015
Why Android users can’t have the nicest things – January 5, 2015
iPhone users earn significantly more than those who settle for Android phones – October 8, 2014
Yet more proof that Android is for poor people – June 27, 2014
More proof that Android is for poor people – May 13, 2014
Android users poorer, shorter, unhealthier, less educated, far less charitable than Apple iPhone users – November 13, 2013
IDC data shows two thirds of Android’s 81% smartphone share are cheap junk phones – November 13, 2013
CIRP: Apple iPhone users are younger, richer, and better educated than those who settle for Samsung knockoff phones – August 19, 2013
Can’t you just subscribe on the web and then log in on your IOS device which wouldn’t give Apple the 30%?
Yes.
This is correct. It’s likely Google is just taking a jab at Apple before launch to lower the public’s opinion of Apple as greedy money-grubbers.
Google could easily just have online-only subscription, but doesn’t Apple require pricing for the in-app purchase to be the same as online? Google wants to offer the convenience of in-app purchases, but wants to do it in a pejorative way to Apple while shifting blame TO Apple instead of taking it on itself.
Time will tell whether this is a smart business move or not… but given that they’re playing on a popular sentiment that Apple is greedy I think this will play in Google’s favor.
Hey MDN, 70% of $13 is $9.10. So Google is eating $0.90 per iOS device. That’s less than on their own platform. Apple makes $3.90.
No… this means Google is PAYING $0.90 for each subscription. They’re certainly not taking a hit.
Although I agree that 30% for streaming subscriptions is pretty rich on Apple’s part, unless they’re hosting the content being streamed.
Okay. Paying. Making $0.90 less on iOS. No?
So if you purchase a Netflix/Hulu/etc. subscription via an iOS app Apple is actually hosting that content?
I guess i understand why google does this; but google also charges developers 30% for any app they host that is paid. Just a side note.
Hulu did the same thing with its commercial free service. I let my account lapse in the iStore and resubscribed on the Hulu website and got the lower price.
I generally like Apple stuff but if I can get a product or service cheaper by avoiding them and paying directly, I’ll do it. Apple doesn’t need charity and if you pay more by making an in-app purchase when you could have paid less by doing the same thing on the website, consider the difference a stupidity tax.
“Apple doesn’t need charity”
Apple doesn’t run its App Store for free and if developers want to make money off Apple’s App Store, then they have to pay for that advertising and infrastructure. Apple isn’t a charity.
I just find it in bad taste for Apple to charge extra for a feature that’s available outside of the app store at a lower price without loss of function. It’s taking advantage of peoples’ ignorance.
Why do people buy wine in a restaurant when they can buy it in a liquor store much cheaper? You sound an awful lot like an Android user.
If I have a particular variety or vintage that I want to try, i’ll bring my own and pay the uncorking fee, but usually because the restaurant has a wider selection. Really bad analogy.
If you want the convenience of paying through iTunes, have at it. All I had to do was stop the monthly payment and wait until Hulu complained about a lack of payment and went to hulu.com and set up autopay. I found the one time effort worth it to save $36 + tax per year.
A tenner a month each for Youtube, Netflix, Apple, Hulu, Amazon, etc, etc. With services launching (admittedly good) exclusive shows online content is quickly getting to be as expensive as traditional media – and it uses up your bandwidth.
This is why Kodi will be around for a very long time.
Google – I suggest you set iOS users to $35/mo and pray you get a handful of subscribers. I am hoping a lot of iOS users will run to Vimeo or other sites to post their videos. Companies who place higher tariffs on iOS users should just be forgotten.
Yeah, I get the In-App reason Google states, if in fact Apple charges 30% from developers BUT as MDN says and most know Android users typically don’t want to pay, where Apple users do – and have the money also. Google will have to explain constantly to any user why they are charged more per month.
All the subscription model means is that you’ll avoid ads. iOS users can still use YouTube w/o pay if they are willing to view ads before the vid.
My money is staying in my pocket.
BTW: Can they use the label RED, or is it specifically “Product Red” that is for charity?
Ad free does not necessarily mean tracking free. My bet is that Google will make way more than $13 per month by selling your personal interests and media history to advertisers (and who knows who else), even as they charge you for the media.
Adblock Plus, others once again kill the ads.. I haven’t seen and ad on youtube in a long time. I understand people need to get paid, I go to concerts, buy discs still and T-shirts. But i look at Youtube like Radio, a platform for the artist to hook me. It’s their commercial… as for Youtube / Google itself,, Please..