YouTube Will Soon Show Unskippable 30-Second Ads on TVs

YouTube will soon start showing unskippable 30-second ads to users of its TV apps that don’t have a Premium subscription. The company announced the news at its YouTube Brandcast event yesterday (via Variety), adding that the new ad format will only appear on top-performing content.

“Instead of seeing two 15 seconds ads consecutively, they’ll see one 30 seconds ad,” explained Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle, VP of YouTube Ads Marketing on the YouTube blog. The exec also said that the new ad format “seamlessly fits into what viewers already expect and experience on the big screen.”

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The new 30-second unskippable ads will launch first in the US before expanding to other markets later this year. According to the latest Nielsen Gauge Report, YouTube (including YouTube TV) is now the most-watched streaming service on TVs in the US with over 150 million users on connected TVs.

Additionally, YouTube will also soon start testing “Pause Experiences” when users pause a video on the YouTube app on their TV. Sean Downey, president of ad sales for Google explained yesterday that users can expect to see “highly visual ads” when they hit the pause button while watching a video. Some of these ads may also include a QR code to push users to learn more about a brand.

While these “Pause Experiences” will just be an “experiment,” if you’re not willing to pay for YouTube Premium, you’re likely going to see more and more ads when watching YouTube on your TV. On the desktop, YouTube has also been testing asking users to disable their ad blockers to watch videos.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC