Google planning to unbundle YouTube Premium, music streaming service in Korea

YouTube logo [REUTERS/YONHAP]   Google is reviewing a plan to launch a new YouTube Premium subscription in Korea that excludes YouTube Music.   The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Tuesday that it is currently negotiating a consent decision with Google Korea over an ongoing case concerning the YouTube Premium pricing model.   Related Article   A consent decision allows the FTC to suspend its review if the company under investigation voluntarily offers remedies to resolve consumer harm. It functions as a form of self-regulation.   Last July, the FTC sent Google a review report, equivalent to a prosecutor’s indictment, arguing that bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium violates fair trade laws.   In response, Google proposed its own corrective measures during the review process.   The FTC believes Google leveraged YouTube’s dominant market position by forcibly bundling YouTube Music with Premium subscriptions, thereby unfairly hindering other music streaming services from operating in the Korean market.   A comparison between YouTube Premium and YouTube Lite subscription models [SCREEN CAPTURE]   With negotiations underway, there is growing attention on whether a “YouTube Premium Lite” plan — which excludes YouTube Music — will be introduced in Korea.   The Lite plan offers ad-free
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