YouTube ads: Are they really getting longer?

YouTube has stated that its advert segments are getting longer, but there will be fewer of them for viewers watching on connected TVs.

The information was provided in a Google Announcement that revealed it has been the most-watched content streaming service in the USA, according to a Nielsen audience monitoring report.

The streaming platform has claimed that viewers expect a different advertising experience based on the type of content being watched — but what does this mean?

Obviously, ads will be targeted based on the content’s genre, but the above claim has more to do with the duration and quantity of ads displayed during a streaming session.

One of the findings from YouTube was that “79% of viewers would prefer video ads that are grouped together instead of distributed throughout a video.”

That makes sense. We are all familiar with the ads that run on the Google-owned platform, and it can be annoying to have your viewing pleasure disrupted by constant ads, so if you can have them all at once, it should allow for a better all-around experience.

Fewer but longer ad breaks

A YouTube Premium subscription brings the benefit of not having to view ads, but for many, the cost will not be attractive.

The audience knows what to expect, and with YouTube’s 24/7 functionality, the insatiable demand for content is met by the opportunity for advertising, so it is mutually beneficial for the streaming service to consult consumers on how ads will be presented.

On that preference to have ads grouped together, YouTube said it “evaluated fewer, longer ad breaks, to create a more seamless viewing experience on the big screen. In early testing of fewer, longer ad breaks on connected TVs, over half of YouTube CTV streamers experienced 29% longer viewing sessions before their next ad break.”

It was also confirmed that due to demand, a new feature will be implemented, meaning that the remaining time on the ad slot will be shown, as well as the number of ads in the queue. The display will show a countdown timer until the end of the ads or when the skip button can be activated.

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