Google plans to launch standalone YouTube subscription in Korea to address anti-competitive practice

Google plans to launch a standalone premium subscription plan for YouTube video streaming without the music streaming component in Korea, as part of a voluntary corrective measure to address its alleged anti-competitive practice, the country's antitrust regulator said Tuesday. The standalone product, dubbed YouTube Premium Lite, will be nearly half the price of that of the currently existing YouTube Premium plan, which bundles both video and music streaming features, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Android users can subscribe to YouTube Premium Lite for 8,500 won ($6.15) per month, while the monthly price for iOS users was set at 10,900 won, the FTC said, noting the prices are cheaper compared with equivalent YouTube subscription plans in six other countries, including the United States and Britain. The new subscription plan was proposed as Google's corrective action plan to address its anti-competitive practice of bundling YouTube Music with the video streaming platform's ad-free premium subscription service. Following Google's launch of such a product in 2020, the FTC begWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times