If you told someone who exclusively watches satellite television that ads are now unskippable for 30 seconds, they would simply be unfazed. When satellite television was all we had decades ago, we simply had to endure several minutes of ads on our screens in between our programs. Many would run to go to the washroom or grab a snack before their shows continued while others would simply sit back and entertain those ads.
YouTube Adds 30-Second Unskippable Ads To TV: Impact On Users
In 2005, YouTube surfaced and brought a whole new way of consuming videos. Notably, people could watch endless amounts of videos without seeing a single ad. Now, advertisements are YouTube’s main source of revenue and appear in almost every video posted on its platform unless users subscribe to YouTube Premium. It typically appears with an option to skip but YouTube has been slowly making it an unskippable feature from 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, and now, as announced at the YouTube Brandcast event in May 2023, 30 seconds. The new approach to ad broadcasting could change the user experience and the way artists publish videos and do youtube video promotion.
While it may sound like a tiresome experience for the average user, it replaces two 15-second unskippable ads and is only featured on connected apps on TVs. Additionally, it only appears on top-performing content on the platform.
Empowering Advertisers: Offering Greater Depth And Capabilities
YouTube believes that users would be more receptive to longer ads when viewing on bigger screens, which is already common when watching TV and before movies at the cinema. In that sense, this allows advertisers to take their time when creating their ads and craft richer storytelling that aligns better with their objectives instead of compressing everything into short-form videos.
These 30-second ads are accessible to advertisers through YouTube Select, an exclusive advertising platform that specifically targets the top five percent of YouTube content, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement.
Based on historical data, YouTube claims that 70% of their YouTube Select impressions come from users on their TV. Putting two and two together, this makes it the perfect space for advertisers to run longer ads.
Youtube Tests “Pause Experiences” To Explore Non-Intrusive Ads
On top of this 30-second ad development, YouTube has also announced that they would be testing out another form of advertising feature. Although it wasn’t explicitly discussed, we can expect it to be similar to a feature that Hulu had a few years ago where a pop-up ad would appear whenever a video is paused.
On YouTube’s space, it would be known as “pause experiences”. This is where when a user decides to pause a video, their video will slightly shrink to the side and an ad would appear around it similar to a banner. Users would then have the option to dismiss it where the video would simply expand back to its regular paused view.
With this, a different style of ads is introduced to YouTube that is more subtle and non-intrusive. These ads seamlessly blend into the user’s viewing experience, devoid of any audio or video disruptions during video playback. They discreetly appear only when the user decides to take a break and pauses, ensuring a harmonious and uninterrupted viewing experience.
© 2023, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
