> I think the more comparable thing would be youtube premium (paying to not have as many ads there), and I certainly pay for that.
replyThis isn't comparable, because the base product is free. We're talking about paying an upfront fee for a premium product (like $2k for a phone) and then being shown ads. Youtube would be a vastly different product if everyone had to pay a one time $2k to use it (and then purchase premium to unlock ad-free). It's also noticeable that a lot of the "premium" media services go from being ad-free to ad-light... so we're back to cable... but that's a different discussion.
>I have no clue how popular it is
though overall, presumably not
super popular.
replyIt's not very popular because you can remove ALL ads from youtube using a free browser extension
That doesn't help you if you use the YouTube app on your phone, which I'm guessing is what a huge fraction of the viewership does.
replyBut you can just use the browser with an adblocker for Youtube on the phone, which also allows you to play audio in the background for free e.g. for playing music, what's the point in using the app at all?
replyI'm speculating about what most mobile YouTube viewers actually do, not what makes the most sense.
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