X tests three tiers of premium subscription
X, formerly known as Twitter, is on the brink of introducing a revamped pricing structure for its premium service, X Premium. Leaked details from the app’s backend code have unveiled three distinct tiers for X Premium, aiming to cater to various user preferences.
According to media reports, the three new pricing tiers for X Premium include an ad-free version. X Premium Basic is positioned as the entry-level option, users subscribing to this tier will continue to experience full-scale advertising in their feed. Next comes the X Premium Standard, which represents the current version of X Premium, which exposes users to ads to a lesser extent, roughly half the ad exposure compared to the Basic tier. The upper echelon is the X Premium Plus, wherein subscribers will be able to enjoy an ad-free experience in their X feed.
These three tiers (which are currently in testing) mark the latest change brought to X’s subscription service. Formerly known as Twitter Blue, the subscription service was revamped last year when Musk allowed anyone willing to pay to get the much-coveted “Blue Tick” checkmark. Of course, things did not work out as intended, and it led to a rise in misinformation and spam accounts on the micro-blogging site at that time. Musk’s actions further chased numerous advertisers from the site. Now, however, X CEO Linda Yaccarino – in a briefing – claims that they are returning, even though they are bringing considerably smaller budgets than earlier.
Speaking more about the tiers, Bloomberg reports that each tier would be priced based on the number of ads shown to customers. The introduction of paid, ad-free access can potentially serve a dual purpose for these platforms. European Union regulations emphasize the importance of giving users the option to opt out of data tracking for personalization. By providing a paid ad-free option, social media companies may continue to leverage data tracking tools while technically offering users an opt-out solution.
Beyond addressing privacy regulations, Musk has often hinted at the desire to push more users towards paying for access to the app. This, Musk believes, can serve as a means to combat the proliferation of bots and AI-generated spam, while simultaneously bringing a steady stream of revenue to the company. That is something that X sorely needs – X’s ad revenue in the US took a dive on an annual basis ever since Musk had acquired it, and a few months ago, Musk announced that X was “still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load,” Musk said in his post. “Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.”
Of course, the success of this development remains to be seen, and it can attract users who may not want to pay the full price for X Premium (it starts at $8/month).
