YouTube has now simplified the controls video creators have over advertising on their videos, automating when ads appear and whether or not they can be skipped.
Going forward, creators will only be able to choose whether or not advertising is on or off for a new video upload. YouTube automated systems will decide whether a video should have pre- or post-roll ads, as well as whether or not those videos should be skippable or not. Controls for mid-roll ads will still exist, allowing creators to decide whether they want to manually decide where ad breaks happen on long-form videos or have YouTube automatically place them.
In a blog post detailing the changes, the platform said it will consider “many factors,” such as the total amount of ad time on a video and the total number of ad interruptions, to determine which ads viewers will see “to both maximize revenue and ensure a positive viewing experience.” YouTube also said the changes will help simplify the advertising process for creators, as it had been told that “making individual selections was confusing.”
The changes will only apply to new uploads. Existing videos will retain ad controls, unless a creator edits monetization settings.
While some users may be put off by potentially being served more un-skippable ads – as would advertisers who don’t want to be associated with a frustrating user experience – YouTube said in an announcement that this would allow it to extend its best practices to more users. In the first half of 2023, YouTube found that when non-skippable ads were enabled, watch time declined by less than 1% compared to videos with skippable ads, while creators earned 5% more ad revenue. Pre-roll ads in general resulted in watch time declines of under 5%, with 15% greater ad revenue.
YouTube also added a new display ad format that can be added to live streams. This comes alongside added controls that allow streamers to choose when ads air during their broadcasts.
At YouTube’s Brandcast event in May, the platform announced that it would be replacing the pair of 15-second ads on content watched on connected TVs with a single, un-skippable 30-second ad. The format will be available only through YouTube Select, a platform for advertisers that targets only the top-performing content on the site.
