YouTube kills ads with paid “Red” service launch

Not a fan of the ads in YouTube? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, and Google has come up with a way you can switch them off for good.

After a few months of testing in America, Google’s answer to the pain in the proverbial ads that sweep through YouTube are here, and it comes in the form of YouTube Red.

Launching this week in Australia and New Zealand, YouTube Red is what could be described as a premium service for YouTube, taking what you already know and are familiar with for the world’s most popular video sharing platform and cutting out the ads altogether, or silencing them.

Aside for the disappearance of ads, you’ll find original programming through YouTube Red and even uninterrupted music, because some people like listening to music through YouTube.

One caveat that does need to be mentioned is that YouTube Red isn’t free, with an introductory price of $9.99 in Australia before it rises to $11.99 after June 6, giving you a little under a month to score the service at its reduced price.

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You might quibble over the idea of having to pay for YouTube, but remember that Red is an optional thing to subscribe to, and if you still want a free YouTube experience, you’ll still see the ads in your feed.

But Google does plan to sweeten the deal, offering access to its all-you-can-hear Google Play Music service to YouTube Red subscribers, meaning you can not only listen to all the music YouTube has to offer with Red, but all the music Google Play has in a web browser or phone, tablet, TV, and anything else that supports Google Play.

Because of this connection, Google is also offering current Google Play Music subscribers access to YouTube Red, too, so if you already subscribe to Google Play, you just scored yourself a bonus, and you’ll even see it when you next log in to YouTube or open the YouTube app.

We’d call that a win.

Pricing for YouTube Red is $9.99 for the moment in both Australia and New Zealand (yes, that means our Kiwi friends technically get a better deal) before it gets bumped up to $11.99 in early June, while current Google Play Music subscribers will see a reduction in their plans down to $9.99 permanently.