YouTube just spared free users from death by unskippable ads
YouTube is arguably the most popular long-form video streaming platform where a community of individual creators make up the majority of the content. YouTube pays these creators for raking in views, because each free-tier viewer sees s, which earn YouTube money. Viewers like you and me could purchase a Premium membership to rid themselves from ads, and now might be a good time to do it. Following complaints from viewers around the globe, YouTube is ending an experiment that saw up to 11unskippable adsplayed before your chosen video even begins.
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However, since the beginning of this year, YouTube has been showing an increasing number of ads before videos even begin. Redditors note how a year ago, the platform had up tothree 15-second unskippable adsin breaks. In January, the platform upped it to20-second ads, while threeconsecutive 15-second adswere spotted in March. A week ago,Twitter was abuzzwith free tier YouTube watchers complaining abouteightto11consecutive unskippable ads of varying duration preceding or interrupting a video. On the bright side, most of these ads don’t appear to be long.
YouTube took to Twitter toacknowledge the complaints, saying these kinds of ads are called bumper ads, and each is only six seconds long. The company’s tweet suggests viewers use the in-app feedback tool to express their chagrin, but we wonder if this is the beginning of an end to YouTube’s free tier as we know it, or just an aggressive attempt to sway more people in favor of a Premium subscription.
UPDATE: 2022/09/16 15:05 EST BY WILL SATTELBERG
YouTube confirms it’s ending this experiment
In a statement delivered to9to5Google, YouTube confirmed that these high-quantity ad breaks — which it calls “ad pods” — were part of a global experiment, appearing when playing longer videos on TVs. The company confirmed this “small experiment” is now over, though it’s unclear exactly what that means for the future of the application. YouTube could make a return to these sorts of “ad pods” in the future, perhaps in a different format, or it could still with its pre-existing model of longer unskippable ads. Here’s the statement in full:
At YouTube, we’re focused on helping brands connect with audiences around the world, and we’re always testing new ways to surface ads that enhance the viewer experience. We ran a small experiment globally that served multiple ads in an ad pod when viewers watched longer videos on connected TVs. The goal is to build a better experience for viewers by reducing ad breaks. We have concluded this small experiment.
According to 9to5Google, this structure first appeared way back in 2018, designed to front-load ads as a way to minimize interruptions during two-hour video essays on, say, every plot point in The Vampire Diaries. As YouTube confirms in its statement, its goal is to reduce breaks, even if that means cranking up the number of ads that play before a video even starts. If you aren’t on board with that sort of structure, we’re sure the company’s happy to sell you a subscription.
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