YouTube ads have surged in recent years, raising significant concerns among viewers. Not too long ago, the platform introduced longer, unskippable ads, prompting many users to turn to ad blockers. However, YouTube actively combats such tools with its ad blocker detection technology. In response to growing frustration, the company has now introduced a new option for viewing ads.
The Google-owned platform recently confirmed that it has “widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers.” Even when the video is paused, an ad will pop up on the side of the screen. In a conversation with The Verge, YouTube’s communication manager Oluwa Falodun confirmed that the company is broadly rolling out a new feature for all advertisers, targeting a viewer’s paused screen time.
“As we’ve seen both strong advertiser and strong viewer response, we’ve since widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers,” he said. Earlier, Reddit users posted screenshots showing how the pause ads seemed to be rolling out more widely.
Check out a few Redditors' reactions below:
“Like bruh YouTube don’t you have enough ads already???” said a user.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ youtube/comments/1fd051l/i_ paused_my_video_and_this_ showed_up/?
Another added, “This is quite new and has been happening for 2-3 days now. Only mobile app I think. This is, admittedly, quite annoying – however I'll give it to them it is a clever way of shoving an ad in your face. Lmk if this happens for you guys too!”
https://www.reddit.com/r/ youtube/comments/1ffwrw1/ads_ show_up_when_you_pause_now/?
YouTube claims that the ads are designed to offer viewers a “less interruptive” experience.
Technically, the tech giant started piloting this widespread rollout in 2023. It is backed by an experiment that Google carried out with a limited selection of advertisers. Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler revealed that this experiment turned out to be a big hit with ad firms, considerably lucrative for Google and apparently not intrusive enough for consumers, reported The Verge.
To get rid of ads altogether, YouTube has provided users the option to subscribe to YouTube Premium at the starting price of $13.99 per month (approximately Rs 1,100).
It is worth noting thatYouTube is selling pause adverts similar to Hulu and AT&T. Moreover, Sling TV also launched pause commercials in July, albeit you could turn them off from the settings menu.
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