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YouTube rolls out 30-second ads you CANNOT skip on top videos — unless you pay for a $120/year premium membership
YouTube will replace the two 15-second ads users currently see with one 30-second non-skippable ad unless you opt for the $120 ad-free Premium tier.
The shift affects connected TVs, not mobile viewing, and will be shown with top-performing content – but an official rollout date has not yet been given.
The option will be available through YouTube Select, a targeting option open to eligible customers who want to reach audiences from the website’s most popular channels.
YouTube announced the longer ads on Wednesday, noting that 70 percent of Select impressions land on TVs and that the 30 seconds gives advertisers more time “for richer stories.”
YouTube is going to replace the two 15-second ads with one 30-second non-skippable commercial on its TV streaming service
‘This format also fits seamlessly with what the viewer already expects and experiences on the big screen. Instead of seeing two :15 ads in a row, they’ll see one :30 ad,” YouTube shared in the announcement.
The video-sharing platform didn’t provide many details about the change, but revealed that it would bring new Pause experiences for the commercials.
The feature allows users to avoid the 30-second segment learning more about the products or services, which YouTube said will be “highly visual and interactive.”
This suggests that QR codes could be included – a feature Hulu added to its ads in 2019.
YouTube has made a dramatic shift since its humble beginnings in 2005.
It stuck to its roots as a video-sharing platform, but in 2017, the Google-owned company attempted to conquer the “cord-cutters” market and launched YouTubeTV, which streams live television.
“More and more viewers are watching YouTube on the biggest screen in their homes,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said at the company’s YouTube Brandcast upfront event Wednesday in New York, as reported by Variety.
“Viewers – especially younger viewers – no longer discriminate between the type of content they watch. When they turn on the TV, they want everything they love in one place – from their favorite creators to blockbuster movies and football. And they can find it all on YouTube.’
The feature allows users to avoid the 30-second segment learning more about the products or services, which YouTube said will be “highly visual and interactive.” This suggests that QR codes could be included – a feature Hulu added to its ads in 2019
The announcement comes as YouTube is also testing ways to entice users to disable ad blockers or pay for the premium subscription – $119.99 for 12 months.
The experiment was spotted by Redditor users who shared that YouTube banned them from watching certain videos unless they turned off an ad blocker.
“Yes, this has been confirmed as an ‘experiment’ by YouTube, confirmed by a YouTube employee who contacted me,” the users shared in a thread.
According to Statista, YouTube’s global ad revenue will reach $29.24 billion in 2022, compared to $8.150 billion in 2017.