Google unveiled a cheaper version of YouTube Premium in South Korea without the music streaming service. This follows an investigation by the country's Fair-Trade Commission (FTC) into Google’s business practices.
The new version, called YouTube Premium Lite, will offer ad-free videos, the ability to play videos in the background, and offline viewing, but it will not include YouTube Music. This decision is part of a solution Google proposed to address concerns about unfair competition.
Google will still offer the regular YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium subscriptions. YouTube Premium Lite will cost 8,500 won (around $5.80) per month for Android and web users, and 10,900 won for iOS users. In comparison, regular YouTube Premium costs 14,900 won per month, and YouTube Music is available separately for 11,990 won per month.
Last year, in July, South Korea’s Fair-Trade Commission (FTC) accused Google Korea of unfairly combining YouTube Music with YouTube Premium. The FTC said this limited consumer choice and abused Google’s market power.
The regulator argued that by bundling the two services together, Google made people subscribe to both, even if they only wanted ad-free video streaming.
Instead of continuing with a long legal battle, Google was convinced to agree to a plan to fix the issue, which is called a “consent decision.” This allows the FTC to stop its investigation if Google takes steps to cater to the problem.
Some critics question whether this decision gives Google a "free pass" without fully investigating the legality of its actions.
The FTC explained that the consent decision process is commonly used around the world to quickly restore competition and make necessary changes.