> What I don't know however why Microsoft insisted on the ability to not show ads and download videos when copying that concept. They had to know that they were directly cutting into Google's bottom line.

There's a long backstory here.

Microsoft tried everything to get YouTube on Windows Phone. At one point, they negotiated with Google and Google said they were going to work on an app. That didn't happen.

Microsoft tried to use the proper APIs, but Google kept shutting them off:

https://www.windowscentral.com/youtube-access-and-windows-ph...

"Downloading" the videos was Microsoft trying to work around API limitations and shut offs.

Imagine Microsoft's customers getting angrier and angrier that YouTube kept breaking. For years. This was a deal breaker for lots of people, especially young early adopters.

Microsoft tried really hard here.

What Google did was abuse their market position to cripple Windows Phone. Customers abandoned Windows Phone because it didn't have YouTube.

Google had to play nice with Apple in the early days because Apple had all the patents Google needed to continue with Android. It wasn't until they purchased Motorolla that they had a MAD patent strategy.

> At one point, they negotiated with Google and Google said they were going to work on an app.

MS made that offer to probably every developer on top 100 on ios/android stores. That usually meant some small shop in Eastern Europe will be contracted.