YouTube Premium Has Its Perks. Here Are Some to Consider

YouTube Premium Has Its Perks. Here Are Some to Consider

There are all kinds of digital subscriptions you can sign up for nowadays—for cloud storage and fitness plans and music streaming and audiobooks—and you simply cannot sign up for every single one. Even if you had the money, you wouldn’t have the time to get your money’s worth.This brings us to YouTube Premium, the paid plan for the video-sharing site that you and billions of other people happily use for free. So why would you pay $12 a month for it? We’re going to outline the perks here, so you can decide whether it’s worth the price.No AdsSitting through YouTube ads isn’t the worst experience you’re ever going to have—most of them can be skipped after a few seconds anyway—but you might be surprised at just how much better the YouTube experience is without the interruptions and hassles.You can try YouTube Premium for free—which we encourage you to do—and that will give you an idea of the difference. It actually saves a significant amount of time, especially if you’re a frequent YouTube user and spend a lot of time on the site or in the app.Also, if you’re using YouTube for music for a party, you won’t have your tunes interrupted every few minutes by an advert. It also helps when you’re presenting clips to other people—at work or in a classroom, for example.Screenshot of YouTube PremiumYou can download videos to your device with YouTube Premium.
YouTube via David NieldBuilt-In Video DownloadsYouTube Premium subscribers can also save videos for offline playback. This works in the YouTube apps for Android and iOS, as well as in desktop web browsers, so that you can take your videos anywhere.No longer do you have to put up with a dodgy internet connection or a lack of Wi-Fi ruining your video streaming. Whether you’re heading to a park or hopping on a plane, you’re able to queue up a selection of clips for your viewing entertainment.In the mobile apps, there’s also a feature called Smart Downloads. This automatically downloads clips that YouTube thinks you will like (based on your recommendations), so you’ve always got something to watch, whether you’re online or off.YouTube MusicYouTube Music, which ordinarily would set you back $10 a year, is included with YouTube Premium—so you’re getting a full music streaming service in the style of Spotify or Apple Music as one of your perks.While YouTube Music might not be quite as feature-rich or as comprehensive as some of its rivals, it has everything that most people need. You can run it through a web browser or through the dedicated mobile apps, and there’s the option to sync tracks to your devices for offline listening. .

Netflix customers mad over plan to charge for password sharing

Netflix customers mad over plan to charge for password sharing

More like Netflix and bill.

The days of freeloading off a friend’s Netflix account could soon be over: As part of an ongoing campaign to crack down on rampant password sharing, the California-based streaming giant unveiled plans to charge primary account holders extra for users outside their households.

“For the last year, we’ve been working on ways to enable members who share outside their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more,” Chengyi Long, Netflix’s director of product innovation, wrote in a blog post.

The streamer had previously ignored extra-familial account-sharing despite banning the rampant practice. (Sharing among those who live in the same household is still permitted.) However, they decided to make a change after deeming that “impacted our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”

Now, the company is testing a new feature in Chile, Peru and Costa Rica that allows Standard and Premium plan holders “to add sub-accounts for up to two people they don’t live with — each with their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password,” per the site. These will run subscribers 2,380 Chilean pesos in Chile, $2.99 in US dollars in Costa Rica and 7.9 nuevo sol in Peru.

Additionally, the pilot program permits subscribers to transfer user profiles to new accounts — which would, in theory, inspire freeloaders to pay for their own plans.

Netflix may soon start cracking down on users who share passwords with those who live in other households.Netflix may soon start cracking down on users who share passwords with those who live in other households.Future Publishing via Getty Imag

Nonetheless, many streaming devotees weren’t thrilled with the proposed policy, which they deemed just another way to strong-arm customers for extra cash.

“Netflix will lose a lot of customers if they do this password-sharing crackdown they plan to do,” fumed one displeased customer on Twitter. “Charging extra and crap. Especially when they don’t carry a lot of good content anymore like some of the other streaming apps.”

Another deemed the measure unfair as it penalized family members who don’t live in the same household.

“How do you expect families to handle password sharing in the case of divorcees, their children or college students away from home?” they wrote. “We already pay a lot for it, now you’re just milking us for every dollar spent.”

Fortunately, Long said that Netflix will be “working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world.”

The trial is part of the streamer’s ongoing campaign to ensure revenue is not lost as the streaming space has grown increasingly competitive. According to an analysis by research firm Parks Associates, password piracy and sharing cost streaming providers $9.1 billion in 2019 alone. The firm estimates that figure will rise to $12.5 billion by 2024.

In a similar cash-reaping policy two months ago, Netflix hiked its monthly subscription prices by $1 to $2 a month in the US, depending on the plan, in order to help it pay for programming costs.

 
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Crunchyroll Says No More Free Streaming — How Much Do Its Premium Plans Cost?

Crunchyroll Says No More Free Streaming — How Much Do Its Premium Plans Cost?

Crunchyroll has announced that users will no longer be able to stream episodes on this platform for free beginning this spring.
However, there will be a limited number of titles whose first three episodes can be streamed for free for a limited time only. 
Those who want to continue watching their favorite anime on the platform have three premium plans to choose from. The most affordable plan costs $7.99 plus applicable taxes per month. 
Crunchyroll Ends Free Streaming on Platform

Crunchyroll Says No More Free Streaming — How Much Do Its Premium Plans Cost?
(Photo : Crunchyroll / Screenshot taken from the Crunchyroll website)

Crunchyroll will no longer allow ad-supported free streaming on its platform beginning this spring. 
According to an announcement from Crunchyroll, this means that the platform “will no longer be offering simulcast episodes one week after release as an ad-supported, free viewing option.”
“For continuing series, ad-supported viewing on any new episodes will not be available in line with the Spring season, however, previously published episodes are still available to all user types,” the announcement adds. 
Read Also: Anime Fans React to Crunchyroll-Funimation Merger: Best Memes, Reactions and MORE
Crunchyroll’s Seasonal Sampler
The announcement also makes mention of what is being referred to as a “seasonal sampler,” which will be available for free viewing for a certain period of time. Specifically, Crunchyroll users will be available to stream the inclusions of the sampler from one week after their premiere until May 31. 
For spring 2022, the seasonal sampler will include the first three episodes of the following titles:

  • “A Couple of Cuckoos”
  • “Dawn of the Witch”
  • “The Greatest Demon Lord is Reborn as a Typical Nobody”
  • “Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie”
  • “Skeleton Knight in Another World”
  • “Spy x Family”
  • “Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs”

A report by The Verge notes that “It’s unclear whether Crunchyroll will continue to offer seasonal samplers beyond spring 2022, or when the episodes from this season’s lineup will become available for free viewing in the future.” 
Crunchyroll’s Premium Plans
If you are willing to pay to continue watching your favorite series on Crunchyroll, the platform does have premium plans you can choose from. 
The cheapest plan is known as Fan, which costs $7.99 a month, exclusding applicable taxes. This plan lets you stream on one device at a time 
The next plan is known as Mega Fan (1-Month) and it costs $9.99 per month plus applicable taxes. The user can stream on four devices at a time and enjoy offline viewing with this plan. 
The most expensive plan known as Mega Fan (12-Months). It costs $79.99 per year plus applicable taxes. Users with this plan can stream on four devices at a time, enjoy offline viewing, and get a 16% discount on the Monthly Plan. 
All three premium plans promise no ads, unlimited access to the platform’s library, access to digital manga, and new episodes that will arrive one hour after it does in Japan. 
Related Article: Crunchyroll Adds ‘Psycho Pass 2’, ‘Noragami’, And More Funimation Titles To Its Stream Catalog .

Airtel unveils Xstream Premium with 15 OTT services; eyes 20 mn paid users

Airtel unveils Xstream Premium with 15 OTT services; eyes 20 mn paid users

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced a new video streaming service, Airtel Xstream Premium, that brings together content from 15 popular video apps, with single subscription at an introductory price of Rs 149 a month.

Airtel is eyeing 20 million new users for this paid offering, according to Adarsh Nair, CEO of Airtel Digital.

The Airtel Xstream Premium offering aggregates content from 15 Indian and global video OTTs in one app, the company said in a statement.

Customers will get access to a large catalogue of over 10,500 movies and shows as well as live channels from SonyLIV, ErosNow, Lionsgate Play, Hoichoi, ManoramaMax, Shemaroo, Ultra, HungamaPlay, EPICon, Docubay, DivoTV, Klikk, Nammaflix, Dollywood, Shorts TV on Airtel Xstream Premium.

Xstream Premium is a completely revamped version of its previous content offering that was free.

Users can access Airtel Xstream Premium across mobiles, tablets, laptops through the app or web, and on the TV through the Xstream set-top-box. For now, it will be available only to Airtel users.

It will offer a single app, single subscription, single sign-in, unified content search and Artificial Intelligence driven personalised curation for each user.

“All of this content is available exclusively to Airtel customers at… price of just Rs 149 per month,” the statement said.

According to Media Partners Asia, by 2025, India’s OTT (Over-The-Top) subscription market is expected to grow to USD 2 billion, from the current USD 500 million. A large proportion of new subscriptions are expected to come from users in smaller towns and cities.

“Airtel Xstream Premium is a game-changing innovation to democratise OTT content in India by solving the key challenges of content discovery, affordability and distribution.

“As a unified digital platform, it’s a win-win proposition for customers and OTT players alike as we begin an exciting journey to make digital entertainment mainstream in India,” Nair said.(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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