If you watch YouTube on your TV, you may have noticed that ad breaks have increased. Several users report blocks of ads that can exceed 90 seconds before being able to press “skip”. Yes, 90 seconds! Time to check your phone, refill your glass, and regret starting the video.
Ad breaks that take their time
In detail, it is not necessarily a single endless advertisement, but rather a series of spots, with a skip button which only becomes active after a good minute and a half. A clear evolution compared to the non-zappable 30-second formats that YouTube had already recently introduced on televisions.
Interesting fact: the length of the video does not seem to influence the appearance of these ads. Whether you’re watching 15-minute content or a long format, the processing can be the same. For the moment, only TV screens are affected. On mobile and computer, the situation remains (relatively) more bearable. Google, for its part, says it does not officially offer a 90-second advertising format. A lie: in practice, testimonies accumulate and tell of a fairly similar experience.
Behind this development, there is a fairly clear strategy: making YouTube a real connected television platform. With longer, more “narrative” ads, the Google subsidiary wants to attract major brands, accustomed to traditional TV formats. The idea is to offer them premium spaces, capable of telling a story in a minute (or more), while retaining the advantages of digital, such as targeting or detailed statistics.
Clearly, YouTube wants to get a piece of the advertising pie usually reserved for television and ad-financed streaming services. This is not an isolated movement. In recent months, the platform has clearly accelerated monetization: fight against ad blockers, new formats, and even a Premium Lite formula, cheaper but not completely without ads. Either accept the interruptions or upgrade to subscription.
Unsurprisingly, the pill has difficulty passing. On forums and social networks, the reactions are rather clear-cut. Many users talk about an experience that is becoming closer and closer to traditional television, which is precisely what they were trying to avoid by coming to YouTube. Some are simply considering reducing their use of YouTube on TV. And then there are those who are patient… waiting for the “pass” button to finally appear.
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