Nearly everyone has probably had their own personal tussle with regard to YouTube's diverse cache of annoying ads, vexed to no end by their impositions upon people who just want to have a good time and watch a video. Sometimes, ads aren't too annoying, given that there's a "skip" button after five seconds, but most of the time, they are.
YouTube Kills Unskippable 30-Second Ads
Seeing the very tepid response from YouTube's audience to ads, Google has decided to nix YouTube ads, or at least those 30-seconders that are unskippable. The company has recognized the sheer unpopularity of ads that can't be skipped, especially to users under data caps, and is now pushing for advertisers to explore shorter formats.
"[W]e've decided to stop supporting 30-second unskippable ads as of 2018 and focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers," Google said in a statement.
Ads Not Going Away Yet, Though
Much like the six-second ads YouTube released last year, as per a report by Campaign, these short-form formats will aim to deliver their message or pitch a little over the total time it takes for the "skip" button to unlock. YouTube says that removing 30-second ads that are unskippable is its way of providing better experiences for both users and advertisers.
The company has been actively pushing for more advertisements to proliferate the platform, as viewership on the site both via desktop and mobile surges. Nearly two years ago, it announced support for ads viewable in 360 degrees, as per a report by Neowin.
YouTube's decision to shift into short-form ads makes sense, although it might still prove an annoyance for many people on the site. Ads are a major component of profit generation for the site. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that despite 1 billion viewers, YouTube still hasn't become profitable, needless to say advertisements fill that gap significantly.
You'll Have To Wait Before Unskippable Ads Disappear
However, the change won't impact YouTube viewers immediately. They'll have to wait until 2018 before 30-seconders can stop being unskippable. When exactly in 2018 remains a question. Moreover, there's no word whether ads that spring up mid-video will also be sandblasted from the platform, although it seems unlikely. Time, however, will tell.
On a different note, YouTube announced recently that 1 billion videos on the site now have automatic closed captioning. While the system isn't flawless, Google's advanced coding system has largely helped the captioning schtick. With these results, Google says that it has been able to get relatively closer to "human error transcription rates."
Also, four new original series are slated for YouTube Kids come spring, to be released on the eponymous platform, the site's child-oriented app. To watch it, users must acquire a YouTube Red subscription, its premium ad-free tier, which costs $9.99 monthly.
YouTube has also recently patched up a bug that previously resulted in channels losing subscribers. The issue stemmed from a faulty unsubscribe calculation, in which one unsubscribe action counts as two.
Back at the topic at hand, make sure to sound off in the comments section below about YouTube's nixing of 30-second unskippable ads!
