I dunno... remember all those AOL coasters?

It's unfortunate. It's one of the better streaming deals. Way more good content on youtube than even netflix.

But many people (okay, me at least) just want to watch one or two videos once a week, so a subscription makes no sense... The article also mentions how absurd un-skippable ads have become. The whole "casual YouTube watching experience" is a real pain now, and I do not know if focusing on hard-core tubers will prove right in the long run.

For sure but if you're watching 2 vids a week that's only like a few minutes of ads. For people who use Youtube as entertainment, I'd recommend premium. You also get unlimited music streaming with that so it's a solid deal. Cancel your spotify sub and get youtube music which has the same or more songs and you get ad-free youtube as a bonus.

Yeah but I'm paying for a music service I don't need. Gimme just ad free for like a fiver and I'm in.

I would have thought so, but I’ve noticed here and Reddit that every time YouTube ads are brought up, people come out of the woodwork to announce that they proudly pay for YouTube premium. “I hate the ads so much, thank god for premium”