YouTube has finally decided to have a change of heart and join T-Mobile's Binge On program.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced on Thursday that the video site has been added to its list of companies that are included in the program, which means users will be able to stream content from YouTube without using all their high-speed data allotment.
The Google-owned company previously was against the carrier's Binge On program because it compresses video data to stream content in lesser quality at 480p resolution, which they believed could negatively affect the YouTube viewing experience. By streaming content at a lower resolution, T-Mobile is able to limit its data charges to help its customers save their data.
T-Mobile has revamped the program yet again to now allow video streaming providers to optimize the content itself using an average data rate limit.
"This allows video services to offer users an improved video experience, even at lower data rates, by taking advantage of innovations such as video compression technology, benefiting T-Mobile, their customers, and video providers," Google writes in a blog post.
This means that content providers and users can both now choose to take advantage of the program or opt out to still view content in Ultra HD and 4K. However, this will still use up data faster. Users who want to turn this program off can do so more easily now by entering a SMS short code in the T-Mobile app to toggle it off, or with just one click at my.tmobile.com.
YouTube will join other companies that were also just added to the program, including Google Play Movies, Red Bull TV, KlowdTV, Discovery GO, Fox Business, ESNE TV and Baeble Music. This brings the total list to include more than 50 video services that T-Mobile customers can stream content from for free.
"The facts are clear — Binge On is a runaway hit, and adding these services is just huge! Now T-Mobile customers can watch all of the videos they want from these platforms without even touching their high-speed data," Legere said in a press release. "Demand for mobile video is skyrocketing. Customers at the Duopoly can either stop watching or pay bigger bills and surprise overage charges. Only T-Mobile customers with Binge On have the option to stretch their data further at no extra cost."
The program seems to be working, as T-Mobile revealed that customers are watching content twice as many hours per day compared with before the launch of the program, and more than 57 million gigabytes have been streaming without using up all customers' data.
T-Mobile first launched its Binge On program back in November with 24 participating services including Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, Starz and more. Providers don't need to pay to join the program, but they do need to meet the technical requirements.
Source: T-Mobile
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
