YouTube Testing A Cheaper ‘Premium Lite’ Subscription

 Google is testing a lower-priced YouTube subscription plan in parts of Europe that gives you ad-free viewing without offline downloads, YouTube Music and background playback. 

The plan costs €6.99 ($8.32) per month, the same as the student tier, whereas the normal price is €11.99 ($14.26). YouTube confirmed to The Verge that it's also testing the offering in Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Norway with local equivalent pricing. 

Twitter Testing YouTube Playback In App For iOS Users

Twitter has announced that it’s testing a new feature that will allow iOS users to view YouTube videos right in their timeline without having to swap over to the YouTube app. Prior to now, watching a YouTube video on Twitter required tapping on a link and opening up the YouTube app on iOS devices.

Starting today on iOS, we’re testing a way to watch YouTube videos directly in your Home timeline, without leaving the conversation on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/V4qzMJMEBs

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 18, 2021

Nintendo Ending The Nintendo Creators Program At The End Of December 2018

Nintendo‘s program on YouTube is coming to an end. Nintendo has announced that the Nintendo Creators Program will be coming to an end at the end of next month. The program’s website will close on March 20th, 2019. Nintendo said that this is to “make it easier for content creators to make and monetize videos that contain Nintendo game content”. Nintendo says that “as long as you follow some basic rules, we will not object to your use of gameplay footage and/or screenshots captured from games for which Nintendo owns the copyright (“Nintendo Game Content”) in the content you create for appropriate video and image sharing sites”. These “basic rules” that Nintendo mentioned can be seen down below.

• You may monetize your videos and channels using the monetization methods separately specified by Nintendo. Other forms of monetization of our intellectual property for commercial purposes are not permitted.
• We encourage you to create videos that include your creative input and commentary. Videos and images that contain mere copies of Nintendo Game Content without creative input or commentary are not permitted. You may, however, post gameplay videos and screenshots using Nintendo system features, such as the Capture Button on Nintendo Switch, without additional input or commentary.
• You are only permitted to use Nintendo Game Content that has been officially released, or from promotional materials officially released by Nintendo (such as product trailers or Nintendo Directs).
• If you want to use the intellectual property of a third-party, you are responsible for obtaining any necessary third-party permissions.
• You are not permitted to imply or state that your videos are officially affiliated with or sponsored by Nintendo.
• We reserve the right to remove any content that we believe is unlawful, infringing, inappropriate, or not in line with these Guidelines.

Instagram Going Head To Head With YouTube With IGTV

Instagram has officially announced its new long-form video effort, IGTV. IGTV is the social platforms vision for bringing “audiences closer to the creators they love.” The new platform will allow creators to share videos up to one hour in length.Here’s how Instagram describes IGTV:

“We are re-envisioning mobile video with a new standalone surface that features longer videos and easy discoverability through channels, all in a vertical format that sits upright, in the palm of your hand.”

Instagram notes on its new website promoting IGTV that mobile video content will make up for almost 80% of all mobile data traffic within three years. It also adds that young viewers watch more amateur content.

YouTube Music Subscriptions Brings Change To Google Play Music And YouTube Red

YouTube execs have finally announced the long-awaited revamp for YouTube Music that they say will eventually replace Google Play Music. In interviews with Recode, they revealed the new YouTube Music will soft-launch next Tuesday with a $10 subscription packages. The focus will be on personalization that tries to learn what music you like. This will tie into the Google Assistant AI, and pull from a subscriber's YouTube history to serve up suggestions. Google Play Music will remain for now, but the plan is to "close gaps" between services like YouTube Music's lack of a music locker for users to upload their tunes before GPM goes away at some unspecified point in the future. Meanwhile, the YouTube Red section will transition into YouTube Premium, a pay walled, ad-free video experience available only as a $2 add-on for YouTube Music.

YouTube Rolls Out Dark Theme First To iPhone & iPad

Google has begun rolling out a "Dark Theme" for its YouTube mobile apps, starting with iPhone and iPad owners. The option can be found by tapping on the user account icon, then Settings. When available, the toggle is located at the top of the "YouTube" section. Android support is promised in the near future. For most iPhone and iPad users, the Dark Theme should simply make the app easier on the eyes, especially at night. 

YouTube TV Coming To Apple TV And Other Devices In The Coming Weeks

According to The Verge, YouTube TV will a get a native Apple TV app within "coming weeks”. It will also be rolling out on the Roku device and smart TVs from Samsung, Sony, and LG, the article adds. 

“When we launched the service, we positioned it as a mobile-first product. A lot of that was about breaking the association with the DVR and set-top box, this hardware in the living room you have to rent that gets outdated really quickly. We were trying to get people to grok that this is TV that lives on your phone, a cloud DVR, all of the above,” Christian Oestlien, product management director at YouTube TV, told The Verge. “What we saw in practice was that the majority of our watch time was in the living room, through Cast. And the number one request we get from consumers is more options, native options, for the living room.”

YouTube TV is a live streaming service from Google. The service costs $35 for a base package that includes channels from ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as affiliated channels like ESPN, Syfy and Bravo.

Nintendo Banning YouTube Livestreams In Nintendo Creators Program

Those who are members of Nintendo’s Creators Program had an email sent recently informing them that YouTube livestreams are now technically banned. You can read the message below:

YouTube Gets Twitch Like Subscriptions For any Gaming Channel

YouTube is stepping up its game to compete with the likes of Twitch. YouTube Gaming's sponsorships aka paid subscriptions are open to any eligible creator. So long as you run a gaming channel that's enabled for livestreaming, can earn money and has at least 1,000 subscribers, you too can ask viewers to pay a monthly fee ($5) that unlocks custom emotes, immunity to chat slow mode and participation in sponsor-only chats. What do you think of YouTubes effort to compete with other livestreaming services ?

YouTube Red And Google Play Music To Merge Into One Service

According to The Verge,YouTube Red and Google Play Music will merge to create a new service. YouTube Music head Lyor Cohen said the company wanted to merge the services to help "educate consumers and bring in new subscribers". YouTube Music is a free app open to everyone but offers an enhanced experience if you're also signed up to YouTube Red, which gets rid of ads on videos and lets you save them offline. People who sign up for YouTube Red also get access to Google Play Music, which is Google's version of Spotify. At the same time, people who sign up for Play Music will also get YouTube Red's benefits (if you sign up for one, you get the other free). It's not yet clear whether the two apps will merge, or how this will existing users of both services. We’ll just have to wait and see. Thoughts ?

YouTube TV Adds AMC, BBC America And More

YouTube TV (YouTube's streaming TV service) launched over a month ago and its limited 39-channel range was a clear drawback for consumers compared to its competitors. But now the company is following up on its promises to add channels, including 7 more cable networks, such as AMC, BBC America and Telemundo to its basic $35 per-month package. Rounding out the new channels are Universo, Sundance TV, We TV and IFC, bringing the total 46 cable channels. Do you use YouTube TV ? Thoughts ?

YouTube TV Is Now Available In 5 Cities

The $35 a month TV streaming service, YouTube TV, is now available in areas of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Other U.S. markets are “coming soon,” Google says, though the company has not announced any specifics. YouTube TV’s lineup covers more than 50 channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, Fox Sports networks, and Comcast SportsNet. You can see an image of the full channel lineup is below, and you can check out our previous coverage for details on what’s included and what’s not.

Google Announces YouTube TV

Google has announced YouTube TV, a live TV service launching this spring that will compete with other internet-only TV services like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. The service is set to stream content from the big 4 networks (ABC,CBS, NBC and Fox) as well as "ESPN, regional sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks." YouTube TV also promises a cloud DVR service "with no storage limits," although there is a 9 month time limit to how long YouTube holds onto your recordings. YouTube TV is priced at $35 per month. While you can't yet subscribe, you can sign up for an email alert letting you know when the service is available. Thoughts ?

Nintendo Switch Won’t Have Netflix Or Other Media Apps At Launch

Business Insider has reported that multimedia application such as Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube won’t be on the Nintendo Switch day 1. Kit Ellis said that it’s a dedicated games machine, it won’t have many multimedia applications at launch.

Twitch Is Giving YouTube A Run For Its Money

Twitch has announced improvements to its manual upload feature, including increased tag character limits, new language settings and, most importantly, much wider support for common video file formats. In addition to the existing .MP4 support, Twitch users can now upload H.264-encoded videos in MOV, AVI and FLV formats. Twitch is leading the charge in supporting video formats as that's still half as many as YouTube supports. Twitch's upload tools have also been updated to include a default language setting and longer tags, up to 100 characters per individual tags and 500 for all tags total. Thoughts ?

YouTube Red’s Benefits Now Works With YouTube Kids

YouTube is now allowing users to sign in to Red through the YouTube Kids app, giving your kids all the benefits of Red. You probably won't subscribe just for the Kids support, but it’s a nice bonus if you have kids. What do you think ? 

YouTube Is Joining The Live Streaming Party

YouTube will soon be rolling out live video streaming from its mobile app. A handful of content creatures have gained access to the feature and support will open up further in the near future, according to YouTube. You cam launch a stream by hitting the Capture button. Broadcasters must then snap or select a thumbnail photo, and toggle various options like target audience, push notifications, and the chat will be enabled. The stream looks very similar to Twitter's Periscope, with overlaid viewer comments and options like flipping the camera. Real time statistics show the number of likes and active viewers. Can Youtube compete with other companies like Facebook and Twitter in the live streaming market ? Or should YouTube just stick to online video ? 

Hulu And Youtube Planning TV Streaming Services

Hulu has announced that it will soon begin offering subscribers the ability to stream live broadcast and cable brands in 2017. That'll include live sports, news, and more. Hulu's subscribers won't be required to have a traditional cable TV subscription in order to watch. Fox, ABC, ESPN, FX, and the Disney Channel were all involved in negotiations. According to Bloomberg, YouTube is working on a paid subscription service called Unplugged that would offer customers a bundle of cable TV channels streamed over the Internet, people familiar with the plan in 2017. YouTube executives have discussed these plans with most major media companies, including Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, Viacom Inc., Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. and CBS Corp. No rights have yet been secured at this time. More and more cord cutting services are coming available now more then ever. Is the death of cord TV upon us ? What do you think ? 

YouTube’s App Has A Cool Redesigned Homepage

Google has announced some awesome improvements to the popular YouTube app. The app’s homepage is redesigned with larger and higher resolution images and a prominent icon that highlights video creators. A YouTube blog post explains more about the technology powering the new system:

“The new recommendation system is based on deep neural network technology, which means it can find patterns automatically and keep learning and improving as it goes. Every day, we recommend hundreds of millions of different videos on Home, billions of times, in 76 languages. One of the biggest improvements is how the system suggests more recent videos and those from the creators you love. People who have tried the new system have spent more time watching fresh videos and content from their Subscriptions”.

Livestreaming To YouTube & Twitch For Free With Forge

The free PC gaming capture app, Forge, has announced livestreaming support with YouTube and Twitch. The app already allows you to capture gaming footage on your PC and share it to Twitter or Facebook. Forge is available for free at forge.gg.