Earlier this month, YouTube started an experiment to see how users on the platform would respond if they limited 4K video playback only for paying premium users. A few weeks before that, YouTube was experimenting with showing at least 5 and up to 10 unskippable ads at the start of a video.
YouTube and a number of online platforms have hit a saturation point in terms of growth and is looking for different ways to increase their profits and revenue. One of the most common ways that platforms like YouTube have is to have certain top-tier features, behind a paywall.
YouTube has officially stopped its experiment of limiting 4K video playback for paying, premium users. YouTube has restored access to 4K playback for all of its users.
YouTube’s official Twitter handle recently tweeted out saying so while responding to a query from a user.
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
YouTube is still looking for responses from users about their experiment of placing 4K video playback behind a paywall. While initially most users were miffed about the exclusion, it actually makes sense to make features like 4K video playback a premium feature.
4K streaming uses up a lot of bandwidth, and this is a major avenue of expenditure for YouTube. Moreover, if a feature like this is indeed behind a paywall, users will have more of a reason to get a Premium subscription.
Moreover, this will allow YouTube to come up with more tiers or more plans for paying users, which can differentiate between feature sets. Furthermore, it will limit YouTube’s expenditure as well, as not a lot of people consume content in 4K, not on YouTube at least.
It is still not clear what were YouTube’s findings from this experiment. So, it remains to be seen whether YouTube will actually place 4K video playback behind a paywall in days to come.
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