YouTube Premium

Leading paid subscription tier of the world's largest video platform, with 100M+ subscribers globally

YouTube Premium is Google's paid subscription service for YouTube, launched in 2018 as a rebranding of YouTube Red (originally launched in 2015). It offers subscribers an ad-free viewing experience across all YouTube content, background playback, offline downloads, and access to YouTube Music Premium. As a product of Alphabet/Google, it sits at the intersection of consumer subscription services and the broader AdTech ecosystem, representing a significant alternative revenue stream to YouTube's dominant advertising business. From an AdTech perspective, YouTube Premium is notable for its role in shaping the premium video advertising landscape. Subscribers are removed from the ad-supported audience pool, which affects inventory supply dynamics and CPM pricing for the remaining ad-supported audience. Advertisers targeting YouTube's ad-supported users benefit from a more engaged, non-ad-fatigued audience, while Google uses Premium subscriber data to refine its broader audience intelligence and targeting capabilities. YouTube Premium competes directly with streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, as well as ad-supported alternatives like Peacock and Hulu's ad-supported tier. With over 100 million subscribers reported as of 2023, it represents a meaningful and growing revenue line for Alphabet, complementing the company's multi-billion-dollar advertising business and reinforcing YouTube's position as the world's dominant video platform.