What you need to know
- YouTube has approved new 30-second unskippable ads for TV viewers who are not subscribed to YouTube Premium.
- The ads are designed for big-screen viewing and will appear alongside 6-second and 15-second ad formats.
- Google’s AI will dynamically choose which ad length to show based on the audience and viewing context.
YouTube currently shows ads to users who are not subscribed to its Premium membership, and it seems the company may soon make things worse for those viewers. YouTube has approved 30-second unskippable ads for people watching YouTube on TVs.
YouTube on TV has arguably become one of the best ways to consume content. I regularly watch YouTube through the app on my Google TV, and I know many others who do the same. After all, the platform lets you stream content from creators for free.
However, the company has recently been cracking down on ad blockers. Not everyone is a YouTube Premium member like me, and it now seems Google may make the experience tougher for users who are not paying.
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As first spotted by Android Headlines, YouTube has approved 30-second unskippable ads for advertisers running campaigns on YouTube TV. Google confirmed the change in a recent blog post.
Google says the new ‘non-skip ads’ are designed specifically for the big screen. The company also says its AI will dynamically optimize between 6-second bumper ads, 15-second standard ads, and 30-second CTV-only non-skippable formats to ensure ads reach the right audience at the right time.
Android Central’s take
I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this. With rising costs, it makes sense that Google relies heavily on ads to keep the platform running, but the question is whether it should come at the expense of user experience.
Now that this ad format is available for advertisers, non-paying YouTube users may start seeing longer ads on their smart TVs. This doesn’t necessarily mean every viewer will get 30-second unskippable ads, but advertisers and Google’s AI now have the option to serve them.
Of course, ads are necessary for the platform to operate, but this move does feel slightly aggressive. It could also be part of a broader strategy to encourage users to subscribe to YouTube Premium, especially now that the company also offers the lower-cost YouTube Premium Lite plan that removes most ads.
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