Good News! Google has confirmed that it will stop showing up 30-seconds unskippable ads on YouTube by 2018 and aims to focus on shorter ad formats. Google has reportedly taken this decision to make the whole ad environment more friendly and convenient for both users and advertisers.
As per a statement made by a Google spokesperson to Campaign – “As part of that, we’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,”
On the other hand, YouTube will continue to push shorter ad formats such as 20-second unskippable ads which are not run in a large number, as of now. Further, the 6-second ad format which was introduced back in April 2016 will continue to be YouTube’s main focus for years ahead.
This is indeed a good move, in our opinion, as unskippable ads for a long-duration is something which can annoy anyone wanting to watch a particular video. While people has gradually accepted the ad ecosystem, pushing unskippable ads is yet to find the user’s consent which in fact is much more difficult here. The logic is simple, people log in to YouTube for watching their favourite content and never want to waste any time. However, ever since Google’s famous video streaming service brought in the ad scenario in to YouTube, most people have found themselves reluctant with the move. While skippable ads are just fine, those unskippable long (30 seconds) ads have often LED to frustration in user’s mind.
Another way to look at this YouTube is kind of worried after Facebook has grown up as a pretty reliable video streaming service as well. (Source: Campaign). To avoid those 30 seconds of forced annoying ads, people have started to gradually shift to Facebook for their daily video streaming service. Note, we are not denying the fact that YouTube still lies on top of any current video streaming service, but growing number of users on Facebook is definitely making Google worry.
Interestingly, on the other hand, Facebook is planning to bring the ad format to its eco system. However, the advertisements will only run midway through a video which is at least 90 seconds long and it will only run if a user has watched that particular video for at least 20 seconds. Also, based on Facebook’s ability as a medium of advertising, Google really needs to bump up its ad game in order to save both brands and users. Till then, let us know your thoughts as to how do you tackle with YouTube ads? Comment below.