Google launched YouTube Red, a new ad-free subscription service for its flagship video-sharing platform YouTube, in South Korea on Tuesday, offering a range of exclusive viewing options for paying subscribers.



Available at 7,900 won ($6.75) a month, YouTube Red lets users watch ad-free videos, save and access videos in offline settings and continue playing videos in the background while other apps are running or the screen is turned off on a mobile phone.



Subscribers also gain access to new video content available exclusively through YouTube Red. Google Korea said it will unveil its first original YouTube Red video featuring K-pop boy group Big Bang next year.



YouTube Red (Google Korea)



In addition to YouTube Red, Google also unveiled YouTube Music, a mobile app that functions like a standard music streaming service. Subscribers to YouTube Red can enjoy a more versatile version of the music app without ads.



All YouTube Music users can search for artists and stream music videos via the new app. A personalized “music station” syncs with a user’s YouTube account to recommend songs based on music videos the user watched or liked in the past.



Subscribers of YouTube Red can access extra functions such as the “audio mode,” which lets users listen to only music without streaming the video, minimizing network usage costs. Subscribers can also save songs can onto the app’s “offline station” as well.



YouTube Red is currently available in just five markets -- the US, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and now Korea. Google plans to bring the subscription service to new locations in the future, though the company is unable to announce its next destination market at this point.





Adam Smith, vice president of product management at YouTube, speaks during a press conference held Tuesday in Seoul. (Google Korea)