A YouTube test discovered a few days ago frightened users. With this test, the service seemed to be taking steps to require users to subscribe to Premium to watch videos in 4K resolution. Naturally, such a radical attempt to get users to pay for YouTube sparked controversy and a lot of criticism in the community. And now Google has decided to take a step back and ditch the idea of putting 4K video playback behind the paywall.
Team YouTube’s official Twitter account announced that paid 4K streaming is an experiment, and the company has completely abandoned this idea. In other words, all users will be able to continue watching 4K resolution videos without subscribing to YouTube Premium.
The tweet reads: “We have completely closed this experiment. Viewers can now access 4K quality resolutions without a Premium subscription.”
we’ve fully turned off this experiment. viewers should now be able to access 4K quality resolutions without Premium membership. we’re here if you have other q’s
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube)October 17, 2022
Google did not comment on why it abandoned this idea. But overwhelmingly negative customer feedback is certainly among the main determining factors.
YouTube Premium is Google’s monthly subscription option that removes all ads on YouTube and provides access to YouTube Music and YouTube Originals. Therefore, Google is working hard to get users to switch to this option.
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